Far From Home
by RunawayToaster
Summary: When Merlin finds himself lost in a strange and alien modern Cardiff, he becomes freinds with Torchwood, who work to try and re-unite him with Camelot and his destiny. Will they be able to get him and Arthur to safety before Camelot is brought down?
1. Lost In Cardiff

*AUTHORS NOTE* this fic is purely experimental, I'm writing it because I simply could. That is all. Enjoy.

The rain hammered down onto Cardiff, soaking everything it hit. The downpour had been ongoing for a day and a night now, and it was accompanied by the occasional rumble of thunder and flash of lightning. A figure ran through the rainsoaked streets, hair sodden and plastered to his head, clothes sticking to his body as he searched in bewildered confusion for anything that would tell him where he was. He was lost; he knew he wasn't in Camelot anymore, but still cried out "Arthur! ARTHUR!" The only answer he got was silence, and the constant sound of rain. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked. Merlin shivered, the cold starting to get to him now that he'd stopped. He called out again "ARTHUR!" but it was in vain, Arthur wasn't going to hear him, he was still in Camelot. Merlin didn't know where he was, the tall buildings loomed over him in the darkness, and the orange glow that lit the place made everything blank and devoid of colour. He looked back down the street he'd been running down and saw rows of houses, nothing here could tell him where he was at all, and everything was so confusing and alien to him.

Suddenly, a bright light came into Merlin's view and a loud noise accompanied it. The light and noise came closer to him, the light almost blinding him. He jumped out of the way just as a car went sailing past, its occupants shouting at him, barely audible over the noise of the engine and music pumping out of the stereo. Getting his breath back, Merlin sat down on the curb. He wanted to go home, he was wet and tired and cold and lost. He tried to think of how he'd got here. He remembered running an errand for Gaius, and he fell, and kept falling, until eventually he landed here. He rubbed the lump on his head where it had hit the ground as he fell. At first he thought he'd died. Maybe he had, maybe this was what death was like. Maybe he was dead.

After a while, Merlin got up from the curb and walked further down the street.

He curled up in the shelter of a wall and closed his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, he would be back in Camelot.

"Gaius, have you seen Merlin?" Arthur stood in the doorway to Gaius' Chambers, his face set in a firm frown, but worry was secretly bubbling for his missing servant.

"No, I thought he was with you, but he didn't come back last night."

"I haven't seen him since yesterday evening; I need him to clean my armour!" It was hard for Arthur to keep his arrogant tone up; he had to, if he wanted to keep his feelings for his servant secret.

"If I see him, I'll be sure to send him straight over to you" Gaius got up and put a hand on the young prince's shoulder. "There's no need to worry, I'm sure he'll return soon enough"

"Thank you, Gaius" Arthur nodded and left with long, confident strides, and Gaius watched him go before he returned to his magic book, the panic starting to bubble inside him too, it wasn't like Merlin to disappear like this.

Arthur sat down back in his quarters and looked across at the pile of armour on the table. "Oh Merlin, where are you?" He murmured.

Merlin was jolted awake by the presence of someone in the alleyway. Immediately he got to his feet and cast his eyes about for a weapon.

"Whoa, I'm not going to hurt you" A kind voice spoke to him. A tall man stood in the alleyway, inches away from him. He took a step forward and Merlin took a step back. "Owen, I think I found it." Two more people stepped into the alley, and peered at Merlin in the darkness. Merlin took up a wary battle stance, and raised a hand in front of him just in case. The man closest to him grabbed his arm and Merlin jerked it away. He held his hand out instinctively and his eyes glowed gold for a second. Merlin didn't even know what had happened until he saw the body hitting the tarmac with a dull, heavy thud. He backed further into the alley, eyes darting around for a way out.

"Jack!" one of the people ran towards the road, leaving one more to face Merlin off. He made a quick movement and managed to fold Merlin's arms behind his back. Merlin let out a yelp of terror and tried to fight him off, trying to think of another incantation to get him free. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his neck, and then everything went black.

Merlin woke up in a dingy cell, a groggy feeling making his head throb. He raised a hand to it and rubbed the bruise which had formed overnight. As he moved his still wet clothes rubbed against his body, causing discomfort. Merlin shivered and looked around himself. He was sitting on a thin shelf-like bunk, and on his right there was a clear door. This bemused Merlin, and he tapped it apprehensively.

"Hello" A voice sounded next to him. He looked up. On the other side if the door, a tall man stood, dressed in a long blue coat, with dark trousers and a light shirt. He had a kind looking face, and light blue eyes, which had an old look about them. They reminded him of Gaius'. Thick black hair topped his head.

"Hello" Merlin decided the best option was to speak, these people could tell him what was happening. "Who are you? Where am I?"

"I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and you are in Torchwood. Well, in the holding cells. Torchwood is up there" Jack pointed up and smiled. "Who, or should I say, what, are you?"

"I'm Merlin" Merlin pulled his legs up and rested his chin on his knees, arms locked around his legs. "I'm just….I'm lost."

"I see" Jack pressed something on his side of the door and it slid backwards. Merlin moved back immediately.

"Its okay, come with me. We need to run some tests."

Merlin reluctantly got up and followed Jack through a door and out into the hub. He had to stop to take it all in. They were in a huge cavern, with a column rising up to the top. Bewildering instruments beeped and flashed and the whole place was a clamour of noise. Jack pushed Merlin down towards a sunken in area that was spotlessly clean and sat on a silver bench like worktop in the centre of the room.

"Okay." A tallish man dressed in a long white coat came into his vision, brandishing a scary looking object in his hand. It was small and had a sharp looking needle at one end. He took a step towards Merlin, and Merlin pulled his legs onto the bench and moved back to the far edge. "This won't hurt." But the needle looked like it would.

"Merlin, please co-operate" The man in the long coat-Jack he had said his name was put a hand on his shoulder. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. We need to find out what you are. What you did in that alley, that wasn't human."

Merlin's stomach lurched, he shook his head vigorously. "I'm not anything! I'm just Merlin!" He shrunk into himself with fear; these people couldn't find out what he could do, it was secret. "I don't know what it was!" He lied, panic flaring up inside him.

"Look, Merlin. We need to run some tests on you." The other man was on his other side and rolling up his sleeve. Merlin jerked his arm away from him and raised his hand, but before he could do anything he felt that spike of pain again and everything folded into darkness once more.

"Have you not seen Merlin at all since Wednesday?" Arthur sat opposite Gaius in his chambers; watching as Gaius put together a medicine of some sort.

"No, and now I'm starting to worry." Gaius set down the pestle and mortar and looked up at Arthur. "It's really not like him to just disappear."

"Do you think he's run away?" Arthur struggled to keep his voice level.

"I don't think so, he's left his stuff in his room, including-" Gaius stopped himself, he had nearly revealed Merlin's magic.

"Including what?" Arthur stood up suddenly.

"His belongings from his old town, and some of the things he's accumulated whilst here. His weapons and such."

"Why would Merlin need weapons?" Arthur sat back down again and ran a hand through his blonde hair.

"For protection I suppose. He had them when he arrived and I let him keep them. If he'd run away I'm sure he'd have taken them" Gaius sighed. "I don't think he's run away."

"I hope he comes back soon" Arthur stood up again. "Can I look in his room?"

"Go ahead, but I'll warn you, it's a complete mess. I try to get him to clear it up but he never does."

"Sounds just like him." Arthur chuckled and went through into Merlin's room.

Merlin's room was, just as Gaius had said, a complete mess. It was just like the first time Arthur had seen Merlin's room during the search for the sorcerer that had caused a plague to sweep through the city, the sorcerer they had wrongly accused Guinevere of being. Arthur shook the thoughts from his mind and looked around the room. Blankets were strewn across the floor, as were a couple of shirts and several books. Arthur looked up at the open cupboard that swung open, empty. Arthur stifled a laugh and sat down on the unmade bed. He kept the tears back and sighed. "Where are you, Merlin, where have you gone?" He got up and went back through into Gaius' chamber. "There's nothing to suggest where he's gone."

"I thought as much, there's been nothing of him anywhere."

"Are you not worried?"

"I am, I just can't let that stop me from working, people don't stop getting sick according to my affairs."

"I'd better go." Arthur made for the door and paused before he left. "I'll give it two more days, and then I'll alert Uther to Merlin's disappearance. Not that it will help, or that he'll care, but at least he'll know."

"Thank you, Arthur." Gaius smiled a smile of gratitude. "I mean that, Thank you."

"Its okay, Merlin may be one of the stupidest servants I've ever had, but he's one of the best."

Gaius snorted "Are you saying you miss him?"

"….yes" Arthur smiled. "I, strangely, do" He turned and left Gaius' chambers, wiping the tear from his eye. He was losing hope, there was nothing anywhere to explain Merlin's disappearance, and he feared it included sorcery and magic.


	2. Missing From Home

Merlin slowly came round and found himself in the little sunken in area, lying on the hard bench. "Arthur?" Someone swam into his vision, and Merlin recognised it as Jack.

"Merlin"

Merlin was suddenly fully awake. "What did you do to me?" He sat up and his stomach heaved. Jack grabbed a bucket and held it under Merlin's mouth whilst he threw up. When he had finished, Jack handed him a wad of tissues and let Merlin wipe round his mouth with them.

"That's just the anaesthetic, it can have that effect. Take it slow for now and you'll be fine" Jack sat on the bench next to Merlin. "We had to knock you out because you were getting a little dangerous, and we needed to find out what you are."

"How? What did you do?"

"We took some blood samples, scanned you, and checked cerebral activity and reflexes etcetera."

"How do you do all that?"

"We have the technology"

"The what?"

"Technology, I suppose it would be equipment to you."

"And what did you find? Am I a monster? Gaius said I wasn't to think that but…" Merlin's voice trailed away. He missed Gaius and his wise guidance, he needed it right now. He looked up into jack's face. "You think I'm a monster, don't you."

"No, no you're not a monster, don't think that, you're….you're special." Jack put an arm around Merlin.

"You said I wasn't human." Merlin pulled his legs up and rested his hands on his knees. "You said what I did wasn't human. You were right, it was-" He stopped himself, he couldn't tell anyone about his magic, he just couldn't trust them.

"It was what? We need to know, Merlin."

"I can't, Uther will have me killed"

"Uther?"

"The King"

"We won't say a thing" Jack looked into Merlin's eyes. "I promise. You can trust me, my team; they trust me with their lives every day."

"He's right" Owen came down into the medical area and handed Jack a mug of coffee. Jack nodded. "I trusted Jack from the day I joined Torchwood." Owen sat on his other side. "I'm Owen by the way" He smiled and extended a hand.

Merlin gingerly shook it. "I'm Merlin."

"Nice to meet you, Merlin." Owen got up. "Sorry about the whole testing thing earlier. It had to be done."

Merlin just nodded and Owen left the medical area. Merlin yawned.

"You should get some rest" Jack went to a cupboard and pulled out a pillow and blanket. "Here, the bench isn't all that comfy but it'll do for now."

"Thank you" Merlin lay down and put his head on the pillow. Jack put the blanket over him.

"It's okay, you need to rest." Jack smiled and Merlin closed his eyes and drifted into a light sleep.

"Still no sign of him?" Gaius stood in his chambers, half heartedly mixing something with a pestle and mortar.

"No, I've searched where I could, and kept an eye open for him, but he's nowhere."

"How long has it been?" Gaius looked at Arthur, and Arthur couldn't help noticing more lines had formed on the physician's face.

"Two days" Arthur sat down heavily on the seat Merlin had used. "I'll tell father soon. Somebody has to know he's missing, even if he is just a servant."

"He's more than just that to you" Gaius looked back up at Arthur, a small twinkle in his eye.

"What!"

"Nothing gets past me, boy! I know he means a lot to you, and he means a lot to me too, even if he is a bit clumsy."

Arthur smiled. "Clumsy, stupid, sometimes lazy, but he's something quite extra ordinary, something about him that I just cant put my finger on."

"That's Merlin." Gaius sat down and rested his head in his hands. Arthur moved closer to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll find him, Gaius"

Gaius looked up. "But how? He could be anywhere by now" he sighed and lowered his voice. "He could be….dead."

"No! Don't say that!" Arthur looked into Gaius' eyes. "I know he's not dead"

"How could anybody know?"

"I don't know, but I just know he isn't, he can't be." But the idea had planted seeds of doubt and dread in Arthur's mind. "Don't loose hope, Gaius."

"What else can I do?"

"Keep hoping. I'll inform father now and search again." Arthur got up to leave and stood in the doorway. "I'll find him." He repeated softly and left.

Arthur sighed as he stood before his father, the royal court assembled around him.

"Arthur, what is it that you want?" Uther said it in a rather disinterested way.

"I'm reporting someone missing, father."

Uther sat up and looked squarely into Arthur's eyes. "Who? Who is missing?"

"My manservant, Merlin. He's been missing for nearly a week and a half now. I fear him dead."

"Is this true, Gaius? Is Merlin missing?" Uther turned and his eyes bore down onto the old physician.

"It is, my lord. He disappeared on Wednesday evening running an errand and didn't return."

"I see." Uther returned his gaze to Arthur. "And why does this worry you so much?"

"As I said, I fear him dead. But I also fear sorcery had something to do with the disappearance."

Uther's back straightened. "Why do you think this?"

Arthur's shoulders dropped. "I…I don't know, I just have a feeling."

"I see" Uther looked round the court, and his eyes rested on Gaius for a minute or so. "I wish to speak to my son alone" He nodded to the court. "Court dismissed."

Merlin woke up and forgot where he was. In a panic, he scrambled backwards and fell off the bench with a hard thud. "Ow!" he cried out.

"Merlin!" someone's feet came into his view and he was being helped up. He looked up into a face he didn't recognise.

"Who…" Merlin wobbled slightly and he was caught.

"Whoa, steady yourself." The man spoke with an accent that Merlin found a little difficult to understand. "I'm Ianto" He smiled and steered Merlin out of the medical centre and towards a small cosy looking sofa. "Sit there and I'll fix you up some coffee."

Merlin had no idea what coffee was, but he sat down anyway. Several minutes later, Ianto returned, expertly balancing a tray with two steaming mugs and a plate of biscuits. He set the tray down on the low coffee table and handed Merlin a mug. "Help yourself to biscuits."

Merlin sniffed the mug. "What's this?"

Ianto looked at him. "Coffee"

"What's that?" Merlin sniffed it again. It had a rich tangy scent.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes"

"You haven't heard of coffee?"

"No" Merlin drank some. It had a bitter taste that was strangely nice. "It's nice." He smiled and drank some more.

"Jack!" Ianto called across to the Captain. Jack turned and came over.

"What is it, Ianto?" Jack smiled at Merlin. "I see Ianto got you coffee. I was wondering how long that would take."

"Jack, Merlin here hasn't heard of coffee!"

"Really?" Jack looked down at him. "You poor thing, I don't think I could really live without coffee."

"I like it" Merlin said in a small voice.

"Who doesn't?" Jack smiled and ruffled Merlin's hair. He turned towards the hub and made his way back down to Tosh's workstation, chuckling under his breath.

"So, Merlin, how did you get here?"

"I don't know…I don't really remember much. Just…falling."

"Sounds scary"

"It was, this place is scary. At first I thought I was dead, but now I'm not so sure."

"No, you're not dead. How you got here is a bit difficult to explain."

"Was it magic?"

"No, there's this…rift. It's more of a rip in the fabric of time, and you fell through it."

"What? How does that work?"

"We don't know ourselves, we just control what comes through."

Merlin stared into his coffee for a long few minutes before looking up at Ianto. "Will I be able to get home?"

"We're trying to find a way"

"Gaius will be worried sick, and so will Arthur." Merlin put his coffee down on the table. "I have to go home."

"We know, we're trying, Merlin. For now we'll look after you here and make sure you're safe until we can somehow get you home."

"I miss Camelot" Merlin picked up his coffee and sighed. "I miss Arthur."

"So, who is this Arthur?"

"The prince. It's supposed to be my destiny to protect him. I'm his manservant."

"I see." Merlin spotted a flash of recognition in Ianto's eyes for just a millisecond and opened his mouth to speak. "I'd better go and sort some food out. Its takeaway night. You like Chinese?"

"Never heard of it"

"God, you've never heard of Coffee, or Chinese? I suppose that's not your fault though. You'll find out later the wonder that is Chinese food." Ianto picked up his mug and Merlin drained his and gave it to him.

"Thanks for the coffee."

"It's okay" Ianto picked up the tray and carried it away, Merlin watching.

He looked up to the cavernous roof and tried to imagine the sky above it, and imagined the same sky over Camelot. "I don't belong here." He murmured and sighed and wondered whether he would belong anywhere. He lived in Camelot, and was linked to it through his destiny, but did he really belong there? In a place where magic was punishable by death. But Camelot was where Arthur belonged, where Merlin should be.

"Arthur, why are you so worried about your manservant?" Uther stood face to face with his son.

"I fear magic and sorcery are involved in his disappearance, and that his may be the first of many."

"Have you not considered him simply running away?"

"Yes, and there's nothing suggesting that. His belongings are still with Gaius"

"I see" Uther sighed. "Can't you just get another manservant?"

"No" Arthur's face was set rigid. "I promised Gaius I would find him."

"I'm forbidding you"

"Father? Why?"

"Don't question me!"

Arthur stepped right up to his father. "Merlin saved my life, the best I can do for him is to try to save him. I fear he's in mortal danger."

"And so will you if you leave." Uther put a hand on Arthur's shoulder. "You're my only son. I can't lose you."

"You won't. I have to go."

"I've nearly lost you once already; I can't go through that again." Uther looked deep into Arthur's eyes. "You aren't going."

Arthur pulled away. "Doors" he called. The doors opened, manned by two armed guards. He ran to them and paused in the doorway. "I will find him, and you can't stop me!"


	3. Discovering Chinese Food

"I'm sorry Arthur" Gaius sat on his chair in his chambers, chin resting on his hands. "Uther's right. We can't risk your life for Merlin when he may have just run away. I can manage without him, I did before he came."

"No, Gaius, don't be, and you know as well as me we can't just not search for him. It's not your fault Uther has no regard for anyone but himself." Arthur looked into the old physician's eyes and felt a jolt of sorrow for him. His eyes were brimming with tears. "Gaius, I'll find him, dead or alive, and bring him back. He could have just gone back to Aealdor to see Hunith."

"Maybe." Gaius sighed, "I forget sometimes. I go into his room expecting to find him sitting there reading or polishing your armour and then I remember he's missing." A tear spilled over and ran down his cheek. Gaius rubbed it away hastily.

"Don't cry Gaius. I've trusted you for so long; I need you to trust me." Arthur sat next to him, and put an arm round the old man's shoulders. Gaius just nodded. "I'm leaving tonight to find him, and I will find him."

"Arthur-"

"Gaius, I have to find him"

"I know, but…" Gaius trailed off and sighed. "I want to find him too, but it's just too dangerous."

"Not you aswell, I've had this from Uther. He thinks I can just replace Merlin just like that, but I can't, not Merlin."

"I know, I miss him but I don't think he's coming back." Gaius' voice cracked.

"Gaius, if he's…dead I want to be the person to find him." Arthur got up and walked to the door. "I'll find him; he's got to be out there somewhere. He means too much to me to just let go of."

Gaius smiled. "Your relationship is safe with me."

"I trust you, Gaius, always have. I will leave tonight; if father asks where I am tell him you don't know or that I've gone on a hunting trip. He'll work out where I've gone soon enough though."

Gaius nodded to him. "Thank you, Arthur, and goodnight."

"Goodnight, Gaius. I'll see you when I return." Arthur turned and, with one last look at the old physician and the room where he and Merlin lived, he set off back to his chambers to prepare for leaving.

As Arthur left Camelot, his heart was in his mouth. He galloped out under cover of night and looked back at the towering turrets of the imposing castle, eyes lingering the longest on the window to his chambers before turning his head forwards and spurring his horse faster. He suddenly got a horrible image of Merlin lying dead and battered after an attack, blood staining the ground and his clothes, eyes open and vacant. Arthur shook the image from his mind. "Merlin!" he spoke to the darkness. His horse's ear twitched backwards towards his voice. "I'll find you Merlin, hold on."

Morgana watched him go from her chambers. She'd had a terrible dream the night before which showed Arthur falling into a glowing chasm of light, and a strange alien world he would eventually die in. "Goodbye, Arthur." She sighed and watched his silhouette disappear into the darkness before closing her window, a sly smile on her face. Arthur was galloping to his death, and this time there was no Merlin to save him. Uther would be preoccupied with the search for his son, leaving the throne and Camelot vulnerable. Now was her time to act.

"So, Merlin, what's Camelot like?" Merlin sat at the long table in the room the team called the briefing room. A foil container full of 'egg fried rice' sat in front of him. He looked up at Gwen, who was a pretty woman with long black hair and a fairly rounded face.

"Well, it's quite busy, there's always something going on. As a manservant to the prince I get to see a lot more of what's going on."

"What do you do as a manservant then?" Ianto smiled.

"Well I polish Arthur's armour, help in battle training, help him with his armour before battles, and keep his chambers tidy, muck out his horses. The list is endless"

"And you do all this every day?"

"Yep, I help Gaius too; I run errands and deliver medicines and stuff like that. I also have to be present as a member of court for audiences with the king." Merlin nibbled on one of the white cracker things. It tasted sweet and melted in his mouth, He enjoyed it.

"Wow, and I thought working here was hard!" Owen shoved a forkful of noodles into his mouth and smiled.

"It's not really hard work, not once you're used to it."

"Don't you get tired?" Tosh piped up and smiled across at Merlin. "I mean all that work!"

"I get tired, but that's what sleep is for."

"Ooh, mind if I use that?" Owen smiled.

"Go ahead." Merlin took another mouthful of rice. "It's something Gaius says all the time."

"Who's Gaius?" Jack, who had finished his food, steepled his fingers under his chin in a way that reminded Merlin rather disconcertingly of Uther.

"Gaius is the court physician. I suppose you'd call him a doctor? He looks after me." Merlin yawned and pushed his rice towards the middle of the table. "I'm full" He announced and then realised what he'd said. "Sorry, was that rude?" He reached to pull the rice back towards him.

"No, no, if you're full you're full. The food won't go to waste." Jack smiled at the boy. "Do you have anywhere to go tonight?"

"No. I still don't know where I am!"

"That was a silly question, sorry. You are in Cardiff. You fell through the rift, a tear in the fabric of time. For tonight you can stay here in the hub, and then one of us will look after you."

"I'll look after him" Gwen smiled at Merlin. "He can stay with me and Rhys for now; I have a sofa bed I can make up for him." She looked across at him. "Is that okay with you?"

Merlin nodded. Gwen seemed kind and reminded him of Guinevere back in Camelot. "Yes, if that's not too much trouble."

"So polite, I wish all young people were like you." Gwen smiled again. "Of course it's fine. I'll let Rhys know and ask him to set up the bed. You must be exhausted."

Arthur slowed his horse as he passed between the trees in the rapidly darkening forest; He rode with his sword in one hand, ready to fight anything that was lurking in the shadows. His breath danced silver in the broken spots of moonlight and twilit sky that filtered through the canopy. His horse whinnied slightly and Arthur stopped it, instantly aware of his surroundings. He wanted to call for Merlin, but kept quiet, well aware that making any sound would alert bandits to his presence. A few silent, tense moments passed, the only sound was the creaking of the old trees in the chilled wind and the breathing of his horse. Arthur loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword and shifted position in the saddle, preparing to spur his horse forward again, laughing internally at his paranoia. A twig snapped somewhere in the shadows and Arthur was suddenly alert again. He tightened his grip on the hilt again and prepared to swing off his horse's back. "Who's there?" He called. "Show yourself!"

Suddenly a figure emerged from the shadows, sword glinting in the moonlight. Arthur swung off his horse and swung his blade. The stranger immediately blocked it and snarled at him with rancid breath, which made Arthur's eyes water.

"Arthur Pendragon!" The bandit's eyes glinted with glee at the thought of what he could get from the prince. He took a swing at his head and Arthur ducked it, swinging a blow at his opponent's middle. The bandit skilfully evaded it and took a lunge towards Arthur's own middle. Arthur jumped backwards and turned at the last minute, feigning a swing to the left e changed at last minute and pierced the bandit's stomach. His sword clattered to the floor as he looked in shock at the blood seeping into his clothes. Arthur removed his sword and pushed it through the man's chest, sending him crumpling to the floor.

"Arthur!" a deep voice sounded behind him and Arthur turned to see another bandit emerging from the shadows. This man was taller than the last, and broader. He raised his sword and advanced. "You should not have killed my friend" He spoke with broken words in a thick, heavy accent.

"Why not?" Arthur swung his blade up, stopping it short of the man's throat. "I'm a prince, you kill me and you'll be executed for treason."

"But nobody aint gonna find you out here, aint nobody come this way much." The man grinned. "Aint nobody gonna know it was me." Without warning, he swung his sword up towards Arthur's throat, Arthur only blocking it inches from his throbbing jugular. He pushed it back and went for a low swing, but found his sword blocked again. The pressure released and the other sword came dancing towards his chest. Arthur dodged the blow and brought a counterattack, stopped short of the man's chest by a skilful block and forced back. The strength of the man overpowered Arthur's and soon had him backed up against a tree, the Bandit's dark eyes boring into his own. "Not so strong now are we?" The man taunted. "Aint got nobody to save you here." He grinned, showing a mouth filled with yellowing teeth.

The pressure on his sword suddenly released and Arthur instantly jabbed his forwards. It went into the man's stomach. Arthur smiled a little. "I don't need saving, you do."

The dying man jabbed his own sword forwards in a desperate blow. It pierced Arthur's abdomen, sending pain shooting from the wound. Arthur looked down and then up in shock. The bandit gave a low chuckle, before his eyes glazed over and he slid to the floor.

Arthur shakily resheathed his sword and stumbled towards his horse, one hand clamped to the bleeding wound. He heaved himself up onto the saddle and spurred his horse on, leaning over slightly. He sped the horse up, he had to get to Aealdor, and quickly.


	4. Arthur, Cardiff and Intensive Care

"Arthur! Arthur no! Don't fight, it's a trap!" Merlin tossed and turned in his sleep, face contorted into an expression of agony. "Arthur!" he shouted again, and then mumbled something incoherent.

Gwen quietly closed the door to the front room and tiptoed back to her own room. Rhys sat on the bed, a frown on his face.

"He's asleep. Poor boy, he's been through so much."

"Who is he, Gwen?" Rhys lay back on the bed.

"Jack's nephew. I said I'd look after him for a few days whilst Jack sorts some stuff out. Merlin was just dumped on him with no warning."

"What are you going to do about work? We can't leave him in the flat alone."

"No, Jack said it was okay to have him in the hub."

"…Ok, it's not really for me to say." Rhys yawned. "As long as he's not one of those ASBO kids it's okay with me."

"Hey, he's a sweet boy from what I've seen." Gwen lay down next to Rhys. "Slightly strange but polite."

"Mmmm, he looked terrible when he came in." He paused. "Like you"

"Hey! That's not nice!" Gwen laughed and hit Rhys with a pillow.

"Ouch! I was only kidding!" Rhys chuckled and lay back down. "I'm shattered."

"Me, too. We should sleep."

Arthur rode lopsided on his horse; he hadn't stopped all night for fear of confronting more bandits. The wound in his side was still bleeding, the blood seeping through the material he'd wadded against it as a makeshift bandage and it was becoming more and more painful and uncomfortable as the forest rolled on by. He was still miles from Aealdor and he knew he wouldn't make it there. He could turn around and head back to Camelot, but he couldn't return without Merlin. He'd promised Gaius he'd find him. He sighed painfully and took a swig of water. Looking around, he noticed certain things about the forest. The trees stood in fairly uniformed rows, darkening into shadows ahead. Dappled broken spots of light filtered in through the canopy and birds sang in the trees. The forest was calm, and beautiful. Arthur shook the dizzy feeling from his head and spurred his horse forwards. The pain in his stomach throbbed in time with the pain in his head.

A few hours passed, and Arthur was deteriorating slowly. Thirst was starting to get to him; he'd drunk the last of his water, and was starting to get tired and hungry. As he passed the small opening of a cave, he noticed a strange light glowed from it. It had a golden colour, and throbbed, sending waves of energy out with each pulsation. Arthur's horse whinnied and began to back up, ears flat against its head. "Whoa" Arthur murmured under his breath. "Steady, boy." Slowly, he eased himself out of the saddle and tethered the horse to a nearby tree with a shaky but sturdy knot. Drawing his sword, he gingerly approached the cave, the pulsations getting stronger as he got closer. He could feel a strange energy encircling him and immediately tried to pull back, but was drawn closer by an invisible force. He looked to the ground and spotted a strip of blue material. His heart leapt as he picked it up. Was it evidence of Merlin? He kept hold of it and stepped into the mouth of the cave. It was dark, and cool in the cave, but from deep within the golden light seeped out. It was pulling Arthur closer and as he tried to pull away it pulled him towards it with more force. Suddenly, Arthur felt himself falling and managed to let out a frightened yelp of "No!" before he blacked out and fell into the golden light.

Arthur hit the asphalt with a heavy thud. He groaned, shakily got to his feet and looked around. Everything was dark and bathed in an eerie orange glow, and the place was alive with noise. Awful pumping music could be heard from the walls of a nearby nightclub, and every so often a car sped past on the road. Arthur couldn't comprehend what had happened, or where he was. He took a few shaky steps forward and used a wall for support, sucking in deep breaths in an attempt to control his breathing. After a few minutes, he straightened up and walked down the long road he was standing in.

Arthur didn't know how far he'd walked when it happened. He was scared and lonely and looking for Merlin. He knew Merlin was here, he could feel it. Without looking, he crossed the road.

Suddenly, he was enveloped in a blinding white light. Squinting, he tried to move but found his legs paralysed with terror. An awful high pitched screech filled the air, drowning out Arthur's yell of fear. Arthur felt his head colliding with something hard with an almighty crack, and then everything went black.

"Jack? Jack what is it? I'm almost ready to come in!" Gwen spoke urgently into the phone, taking sideways glances at Merlin, who was tucking into a bowl of cereal whilst Rhys explained the fundamental rules of Rugby to him. She sighed and listened to Jack's voice on the other end of the line. She paused. "I see. Yes, yes. What shall I do about Merlin?"

Merlin looked round at the mention of his name and smiled before turning back to the TV and listening to Rhys. "I can't bring him." She said it quietly so Merlin wouldn't hear. She paused again and listened to what Jack had to say, "Oh…I see. Yes, yes. We'll be over in about fifteen minutes. Where abouts are you? Oh…is it that bad? Oh my God, okay, yep, yep, see you in a minute. Bye." Gwen hung up and looked back across at the young boy, dressed in pyjamas that were several sizes too big for him and eating coco pops with great gusto. "Merlin" she called over.

Merlin turned around again, mouth full of milk and cereal. He chewed quickly and swallowed. "Yes?"

"Jack just called. We need to go out to meet him. Have you finished your cereal?"

"Almost" He hastily shoved another spoonful into his mouth.

"Ok, you finish that and I'll get your clothes." Gwen smiled and went into the bathroom, where Merlin's clothes were drying on the radiator. She picked them up and took them back into the sitting room. Merlin stood up and put the bowl on the side before taking his clothes.

"Thank you." He set the clothes down over the back of the sofa and proceeded to take his pyjama shirt off. Gwen stifled a gasp at how skinny he was. He put his red shirt back on and smiled. "It's warm!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, it's been on the radiator. I washed it last night, your trousers too."

"You have been so kind." Merlin smiled again. "Thank you." He pulled off the pyjama trousers and pulled on his own with a smile. Gwen smiled back.

"Are you ready?"

"I think so. Where are we going?"

"To the hub, like yesterday" Gwen lied and then felt bad. "But first we need to go to the hospital."

"Oh, okay." Merlin followed Gwen to the door barefoot and pulled on his boots.

"Bye, Rhys!" Gwen called and Rhys stood in the doorway.

"Bye, love you!"

"Love you too! See you later." She blew a kiss and left the flat, Merlin in tow.

Arthur swam up through a haze of darkness. As he opened his eyes he was confronted by a bright light and muffled sounds of voices and the beeping of a machine. Someone was talking to him.

"Can you hear me?"

"Merlin?" Arthur let out a painful moan as he felt something stinging his arm. "What…happened?"

"You had an accident; you're in Cardiff General Hospital." The voice was calm and reassuring, but spoke with an unfamiliar accent he couldn't recognise.

"Merlin?" He tried to raise his head but found it restrained by a contraption which had been strapped around his neck. There was a tube in his nose. Arthur tried to pull it out but found his hand restrained.

"No, that needs to stay where it is; you're in a very bad state."

"Merlin! Danger!" Arthur tried to fight back but just didn't have the energy. He felt a sharp pain in his arm and darkness sucked him down again.

Gwen and Merlin walked through the entrance of the A&E, Merlin bemused by the electronic doors. Jack stood by the doors off the side of the main A&E area and nodded to them both, a serious expression on his face.

"Gwen, Merlin" He nodded. "Ianto's in with him at the moment, he says he's in a pretty bad state. It looks serious."

Jack looked down at Merlin. "You okay, kid?"

Merlin nodded, a sick feeling forming in the pit of his stomach; He had an awful feeling Arthur was the one they were in this place for.

"Good. Come with me." Merlin followed. He didn't like the serious Jack, he was intimidating and imposing and nothing like the kind captain he had seen yesterday. The three of them walked through the doors and down a long narrow corridor filled with staff in green or blue uniforms. At the end there was another set of double doors marked 'ICU'. Merlin still didn't understand what was happening until he was lead into a small room off the side. Gwen squeezed his hand and gave him a sympathetic look before they went in.

Merlin's heart dropped when he saw him. "Arthur!" he yelled and ran forwards to the side of the bed. "Arthur, Arthur, no!" Tears welled in his eyes and blurred his vision.

Arthur lay unconscious in the bed, a tube in his nose looked barbaric, and his head was secured in place by a neck brace. An IV drip hung on each side, one filled with what looked like water and the other with thick red blood. He looked desperately pale and broken, and had a large dressing on his head. He was wired up to a heart monitor, which beeped rhythmically and showed a squiggly line with each beep and a number displayed at the end of the line, displaying the heart's speed. He looked up at Ianto. "What happened?" He looked down at Arthur again and clasped his hand in his own, being careful not to dislodge the bandage and IV line that had been placed there.

"He fell through the rift, like you. He had an accident with a bus though."

"Oh, Arthur" Merlin breathed, struggling to keep his voice steady. "This was my fault. You were looking for me." He looked back up at Ianto, tears running down his cheeks. "It was my fault!"

"No, don't think that. It was nobody's fault." Ianto walked over and put an arm round Merlin's shoulders.

"Is he going to die?" Merlin looked from Arthur to Ianto and back again. "Please, save him. He can't die! It's my destiny to protect him!"

"The doctors say he's in a stable condition." Ianto gave Merlin's shoulder a sympathetic squeeze. "They nearly lost him, but he's stable now."

The door opened and a nurse popped her head round the side. "Mr Jones, he needs to rest, visiting time finishes in ten minutes"

"Thank you, we'll leave in a minute" The nurse nodded and closed the door with a soft click. Ianto turned to Merlin. "We need to leave now, but we can come back tomorrow."

"No, I can't leave him, not like this." Merlin stood as close to the bed as he could get.

"He's in good hands here; the doctors will look after him."

"They don't even know who he is!" Merlin tried to keep his voice low; he didn't want to wake Arthur.

"Merlin, he needs to be cared for properly."

"I'm not leaving." Merlin put a hand on Arthur's bruised looking forehead. "Arthur, it's okay, I'm here and I won't leave you again." He leaned down and kissed it softly.

"Merlin?" His voice was barely a whisper. Merlin looked down in time to see Arthur's eyes flutter open. They were scared, Merlin could see it.

"Arthur, I'm here, it's okay now, and everything's going to be alright."

"Merlin, I knew you were here." He smiled and then noticed the tube in his nose. He reached to pull it out and Merlin restrained his hand.

"No, leave that, you need it." He looked towards Ianto for help.

"It…hurts." Arthur's words were becoming slurred. "The light...It was sorcery….We need to tell…..Uther" The gaps between his words were becoming longer.

"Merlin….." Arthur didn't get to finish his sentence and it trailed off as unconsciousness pulled him down once more.

Merlin stroked Arthur's hand and the sob he had been holding back erupted from his chest. Ianto pulled Merlin into a hug and let him rest his head against him, rocking him gently as he sobbed.

"Shhhh, it's okay, Arthur's going to be okay." He knelt down to Merlin's eye level. "Merlin, he's going to survive. Come on; let's go back to the hub."

This time, Merlin just followed Ianto out of the room, taking one last look at Arthur's unconscious body before turning away and stepping out into the bright corridor. He looked up at Gwen, tears still streaming down his cheeks. Everything didn't seem real anymore. Merlin's legs felt wobbly and as he sucked in deep lungfuls of air he felt like he wasn't getting enough oxygen. Blood pounded in his ears and he fell forwards, caught by Jack, he passed out.


	5. Getting Used To Torchwood

*AUTHORS NOTE* I'm really sorry about the shortness and lateness of this chapter, it's been a busy week, trust me. I'll try and make the next chapter longer but I'm not sure when I'll be able to get it up (I'll try to be quick, I promise!) xx

Merlin sat on the sofa in the Torchwood hub, hands cupped round a steaming mug of hot chocolate and staring into space.

"He'll be okay" Ianto sat beside him, sipping from a cup of coffee.

"He has to be, he just can't die." Merlin paused for a moment, "I wonder what's going on back in Camelot. With Arthur missing Uther's going to be going mad. Especially if he thinks sorcery is involved."

"Sorcery?"

"Magic. Uther banned it from Camelot 20 years ago. Now the punishment for anyone caught practicing it are immediately sentenced to death."

"That's not very fair"

"Uther's not a fair king." Merlin took another gulp of his hot chocolate. "Arthur will be different, I know it."

"I see. Camelot sounds very different to Cardiff."

"Yes, it is. Cardiff is very…" Merlin paused to find the right word, "strange"

Ianto chuckled. "Cardiff has been described as strange by more people than I like to think. I like it though, its home to me."

"Everybody has a link to their home I suppose. I feel I belong in Camelot but I still miss Aealdor sometimes. That's where I was born."

"Really? I haven't heard of there"

"Not many people have. It's just a small peasant town with a few houses and fields for growing crops. Not really much but its still part of me."

"It sounds nice. I guess this whole experience is pretty traumatic for you. Not many living things fall through the rift. The last one was Mafanwy."

"Who?"

As if in reply, the pterodactyl circled above and let out a loud screech before disappearing up in the cavernous roof. Ianto looked up and smiled. "There she is."

"What's that?"

"She's a pterodactyl. An old creature. Fell through the rift last year. She lives with us here. We don't have the heart to send her back, she seems pretty contented here."

"Will you send Arthur and I back?"

"Of course, once we work out how to do it. We can't just simply open the rift though, that can cause cracks in time and it's really quite dangerous."

"I won't leave without Arthur. He came here to find me. Now he's dying."

"He's not. Trust me, Merlin. Arthur's in the best hands there."

"Can I go and see him in the morning?"

"Of course." Ianto smiled and ruffled Merlin's hair.

"I like you, Ianto." Merlin drained his hot chocolate and set the mug down on the coffee table. "Can I explore?"

"Sure, just stay in the main hub area." Ianto smiled warmly and riffled his hair again. Merlin nodded and wandered down towards the middle of the hub, still taking in everything he saw.

"Send riders to the outlying villages and beyond. I want my son FOUND!" Uther stood before the court of assembled knights and they nodded and left as his shout echoed around the hall. They were followed by the rest of the court. Gaius sighed as he watched the agitated king and kept feeling his eyes drawn to the empty spaces where Merlin and Arthur would be standing. He felt Uther's gaze fall on him as he turned to follow the others out of the room. "Gaius"

Gaius stopped and turned back to face the king. "Yes, your majesty?"

"Do you know anything about Arthur's disappearance?"

"No, no. If I did I would have told you."

"Gaius, you are my trusted advisor. I know you would tell me if you knew anything."

"Yes. I have a feeling maybe Arthur went looking for Merlin."

"Merlin's just a serving boy!"

Gaius felt a jolt of anger at Merlin being spoken down like that, but then remembered that Uther was right. "I know, but it seemed that he and Arthur had a strong friendship between them." He paused, "was nothing found at Aealdor?"

Uther shook his head. "No. Hunith knew nothing and there was no evidence of either of them passing through there."

Gaius sighed. "I still have an uneasy feeling that sorcery of some sort is involved. I've looked up disappearances and reported missing persons at the library, but it didn't come up with anything conclusive or linked though."

"Gaius, sometimes I wonder what on earth I would do without you."

"Thank you, my lord."

"You may leave. I will call on you again if I get any news."

"And the same for you. Thank you, Uther." Gaius gave a small bow and left the room, his footsteps echoing off the walls. As the heavy doors closed behind him, Gaius breathed a small sigh of relief and started off towards his chambers.

On the way, he passed Gwen.

"Gaius! I heard about Merlin, I'm so sorry. He'll be found soon, you'll see."

"Thank you, Gwen. But now Arthur's gone too."

Gwen gasped. "So Morgana was right." She paused for a minute, and then sighed. "Do you think Arthur went to find Merlin?"

"He could have done, but there's been no evidence found so far."

"Uther must be worried. You know what he's like ever since…" she trailed off, but Gaius knew what she was referring to.

"Yes, well who can blame him? Arthur is his only son, he has the right to be protective."

"Sometimes I think a little_ too _protective."

Gaius chuckled. "Arthur probably agrees, but don't let Uther hear you saying that!"

Gwen smiled. "Truth hurts"

"Very true" Gaius nodded and Gwen smiled back.

"I'd better get going, it's late and Morgana will be wondering where I've got to."

"Yes, yes I suppose she is. Be careful, we don't want anyone else disappearing!" As Gaius walked back to his chambers, he remembered a conversation he had with Morgana about a peculiar dream she had had the night before Arthur disappeared. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He stopped, turned back and made his way back to Uther.

Arthur woke up and forgot where he was. He panicked and tried to move, but found himself restrained by something around his neck. He gave a cry of terror, but it was muffled by something which was placed over his mouth and nose. After a few moments of terrified panic, the steady throbbing in his head and now familiar view of a plain looking ceiling and background noise of beeps and a disturbing silence, punctuated occasionally by the closing of doors and distant voices. As he lay there, Arthur thought about Merlin, and wondered where he was, and who the people he had seen him with were. After a few more minutes, Arthur heard the door opening again and footsteps coming towards him. Someone entered his field of vision and smiled when Arthur looked at him.

"Hello, Arthur. Nice to see you're back with us."

Arthur gave a sleepy reply of. "Hello. Who are you? It hurts."

"I'm Janice; I will be your nurse for tonight. If you need me, press this and I'll be with you as soon as I can."

Arthur took the strange looking object from Janice and held it over his head so that he could see it better. It was long and smooth, and had an array of buttons on it. The one in the centre had ASSISTANCE written on it. He half moaned a "thanks" and rested his arm back on the bed. After a few seconds, he remembered Merlin being here. "Where's Merlin?" the words were clear this time. "Where is Merlin?" Arthur asked again.

Janice frowned. "Who's Merlin?"

"You know where he is!" Arthur was getting angry now. "Have you hurt him?"

"I don't know who-" Janice paused. "Oh, the Torchwood boy? He's fine, he's staying with Torchwood. He'll be here in the morning."

"Who's Torchwood?"

"To be honest nobody really knows. They're very secretive. Some band of the MI or something. Heck knows what they want with you or that kid, but they seem to know what they're doing. I suppose I'm rambling now."

"They have Merlin" Arthur slowly took in Janice's words. "They have Merlin!"

"So that's his name? Merlin? That's rather unusual. I haven't heard that name in a while."

"I want to see Merlin!"

"He's not here, love. He'll be here in the morning" something beeped and Janice looked down at something on her uniform. "Oh, I'm being paged. I have to go but if you need someone press that button I gave you and a nurse will come and help you." Janice withdrew from Arthur's view. Arthur suddenly felt very tired again, and felt unconsciousness pulling him down. He tried to fight it, to stay awake, but to no avail. He sighed and gave up, and let darkness fold in on him once more.


	6. Finding The Rift

*AUTHORS NOTE* I'm really sorry about the lateness of this chapter (again), this time I had a rather bad attack of writer's block (think of it as idea constipation) I hope y'all forgive me

"Do you think Arthur will come back?" Gwen asked as she fastened the back of Morgana's dress.

"I don't know, Gwen." Morgana sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I understand, Arthur must be like a brother to you."

"He is, and I'd hate it if anything happened to him"

"I'm sure they'll return soon." Gwen stepped back. "There you go, my lady."

"Thank you, Gwen" Morgana looked out the window and saw another search party of knights leaving. A nervous knot formed in her stomach; what if her dream was true? What if Arthur really was dead? She knew it would destroy Uther to lose his only son, but she hated the man. A smile formed on her face which she quickly wiped off before Gwen saw. She turned to her servant, who was busying herself making her bed and sighed. "Gwen, you can go, take a day off, you deserve it."

Gwen looked up and smiled. "Thank you, my lady." She curtseyed and quickly left the room.

"Arthur?" Merlin stood by Arthur's bed, gently holding his hand in his own and listening to the steady beep of his heart monitor.

Arthur's eyes fluttered open and took a while to focus. Once they did, a smile appeared on his face. "Merlin"

"Arthur, you're looking better"

"Have they hurt you? Are you okay?"

Merlin snorted. "Me? You're the one lying there with all these bandages!"

"Well, I suppose I have to look after my servants" he smiled. "I missed you."

"I missed you too" Merlin gave Arthur's hand an affectionate squeeze.

"Where have you been? Who's Torchwood?"

"I don't really know. They've been helping me; they're going to help us get home. Once you hurry up and recover, and they hurry up and find a way to get us back." He paused. "Oh, sorry, shouldn't have said that"

"You mean we're stuck here?" Arthur sat up and grimaced in pain.

"No, well, yes. Oh just lie down!"

Reluctantly, Arthur lay down and sighed. "So we're trapped here, in this place, miles away from anywhere we know."

"Pretty much. But it's OK, we have help"

As if on que, Ianto and Jack came through the door. "Merlin how is he?" Ianto walked over and stood by him. He smiled at Arthur. "Hello, good to see you're okay."

"Who are you? Who are they, Merlin?"

"Oh, sorry. This is Ianto, and this is Jack"

"Hello" Jack smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore. And a little headachy"

"Good, good. The nurses have deemed you safe enough to be discharged. Can you stand or do I have to carry you?"

Merlin snorted again. "He isn't kidding either."

A doctor poked her head round the door and smiled. "Hello, I'm here to sort Arthur out for discharging." She came into the room and expertly began disconnecting the heart monitor. It gave a loud, protesting beep. "Oh, shut up!" she hit the power button and shut the machine up. Once Arthur was all disconnected, she turned to Jack. "I have a prescription here; you can pick the drugs up at the pharmacy on the way out. I've prescribed him codamol, to be taken twice a day for two weeks, Penicillin to keep infection at bay, to be taken four times a day." She handed Jack the green slip with a pleasant smile. "You're free to go whenever you're ready." She left the room and Jack stared after her. "She reminded me so much of Martha." He mused aloud, before snapping back to reality. "We ready to go?"

Merlin looked at Arthur. "Are you ready? Want some help getting up?" He threaded his arm under Arthur's and across his back and heaved him to his feet. Arthur stumbled forwards a few paces and used Merlin to steady himself. He looked down at the hospital gown and a red blush crept into his cheeks.

"Merlin, why am I wearing a dress?"

"Don't look at me; I didn't put it on you!" Merlin exclaimed. Jack snorted and earned a steely glare from Arthur.

"I have your clothes" Ianto handed Arthur his clothes, neatly folded. Arthur gratefully took them and pulled on the trousers, slid the gown over his head and replaced it with the tunic.

"Where is my armour? And my sword!"

"We have your armour back at the hub. Are you ready to go?" Jack walked to the door and leant against the frame. Ianto and Merlin supported Arthur to the door. "Ianto, you go and collect this; I'll take them to the car. Tell them it's important and you're from Torchwood."

"I know, Jack. Standard procedure. I know what you're like in queues." He left and the three others made their way out and into the car park.

The search party thundered through the forest, following the same route Arthur had done three weeks before. Before long, they approached the clearing near The Rift's opening. The horses' ears all went flat against their heads, and they jostled and whinnied, sensing the danger in the energy it sent out. The lead man slid off his horse and patted it's neck to calm it down before slowly approaching the low den-like opening, sword drawn. The Rift's silver glow was visible and it pulsed, sending out waves of energy, and just as it had done with Arthur, it began to pull him closer. The leader let out a yelp of terror and moved backwards and out of range. He picked up a rock from the leafy ground and threw it towards the cave. It landed short, but slowly rolled towards it and eventually it got sucked in and disappeared in a white flash. "What the…" The Leader approached it again, and something on the ground caught his eye. With a jolt of realisation, he recognised it at Arthur's sword. It was unmistakeable. He quickly picked it up and moved back. He turned towards the rest of the group, who were sitting on their horses, a look of worry and fear on their faces. He made his way back to his horse and mounted it. He nodded and turned his horse back and set off at a gallop towards Camelot, the rest of the group in tow.

"You're sure it was sorcery?" Uther sat, cradling Arthur's sword in his hands.

"I'm sure. We all saw it. I nearly perished at its hands." The leader of the group nodded to Uther and looked up at him with fearful eyes. The rest of the search party behind him nodded in agreement.

Uther shifted his position and sighed. "I want this sorcerer found, and executed as soon as possible. You may leave, and begin the search."

The leader nodded and the search party shifted and turned to leave, low murmurs of conversation starting up between them on their way out. Gaius' stomach was twisting and untwisting itself into tight, unsettling knots as he followed, and the rest of the royal court following him as he left the room through the huge oak doors.

"Honestly, Arthur! Keep still!" Merlin sat in the back of the SUV, clinging onto Arthur's arm as Jack drove back towards base. Arthur squirmed in the seat, eyes wide with fear and wonder. In good timing, Jack pulled into the bay and stopped the car. He got out and Ianto swapped places with him to go and park up.

Jack smiled at Merlin and Arthur. "Ready? Come on." He walked over to the 'invisible lift' and waited for them to step onto the small block of concrete alongside him. His hand went to his ear, where he had a comm. Snapped on. "Tosh, be an angel and let us in, it's freezing out here!" To Arthur's utter bewilderment, the block slowly began lowering them into the cavernous hub. Mafanwy swooped overhead with a loud screech, prompting Arthur to duck as her wing scythed through the air above his head in a whistling whoosh.

Arthur leapt off the block as the lift approached the floor and stood, looking around the hub with eyes wide with fear and apprehension. "What…Where am I? What was that?"

"That was Mafanwy, and this is Torchwood" Jack swept his hand as if he were presenting a great monument and smiled. "Bit bewildering, I know, but you'll get used to it." He ushered them towards the medical centre, where Owen was busily working with something in a kidney dish. "Owen, I have something for you."

Owen turned round and leant against the worktop. "Hello, Jack." His eyes scanned Arthur up and down. "I'm guessing this is the famous Arthur?" Merlin blushed a pale shade of pink. Owen noticed ad winked at him.

"Owen, stop it, you're embarrassing him!" Jack ushered Arthur over to the medical bench. "Owen will check you over, general practice." He smiled. "I'll get Ianto to get a tea going for you; you look like you could use one." He turned and left the area, Merlin, still standing by the steps looked at Arthur and smiled.

"Right, let's get this over and done with." Owen snapped on a clean pair of surgical gloves and prepared a syringe ready for a blood test. "I'm guessing you're human, judging by the fact that the hospital treated you, but we have to be sure."

"What _are_ you babbling on about? _Of course_ I'm human, what else would I be? Do I look like a bloody monster to you?"

"Arthur, trust him, okay?" Merlin moved over and squeezed his hand. Owen saw, but didn't comment. He took Arthur's arm and quickly injected the needle.

"_Ouch!_ What _are_ you doing? Get off! This is an outrage! When my father finds out about this, he'll-"

"Arthur! For God's sake calm down! It's okay! He's going to run some tests." He squeezed his hand again and looked into his eyes.

Owen took the needle out and applied a plaster. "There. That wasn't too bad now, was it?" Owen took the syringe and lay it on the counter. He came back with a roll of bandage and some antiseptic cotton swabs and moved round the back. "I'm going to take this dressing off and get a look at that cut." Gently, Owen removed the bandage and checked over the deep wound, which had been expertly sutured. Quickly, he cleaned it off with the swabs, making Arthur flinch, but not comment. He then replaced the dressing with the fresh bandage. "There, all done."

Arthur stood up and stumbled a few paces, caught by Merlin and then Owen. He groaned and shuddered. "Merlin, I don't feel well." His voice was quiet and strained, and suddenly, he went limp.

Merlin looked up at Owen. "Owen, what's wrong with him? What do we do?"


	7. Secrets Revealed

"Will he be okay?" Merlin stood by the medical bench, watching Owen as he bustled around the medical area.

"I don't know. It looks like a relapse or something. Can you check for blood in his mouth for me?"

Merlin did as he told, and his heart seemed to sink when he noticed a thin dribble of red at the corner of Arthur's mouth. "Owen, there's blood."

Owen quickly turned from the blood results he was studying and was over in a flash. "Okay"

"Is that bad?" Merlin looked into Owen's eyes. "Tell me."

"Yes, it's bad. He has internal bleeding. He is bleeding on the inside."

"Will he die?"

"If it isn't treated. He needs surgery, and fast. I can't do it here; he needs to go to the hospital, and fast. I'll get Jack"

"Before you go, Can I try something?" Merlin took Arthur's hand and sighed. "Hold on, Arthur, don't leave me now."

"What is it?"

Merlin looked about himself and lowered his voice. "Magic?"

"What?"

"I can heal him. With magic." He paused, "I think. It's hard to do; I've only ever done it once and that was with some help."

"Yeah…okay. Are you alright?"

Merlin smiled. "You don't believe me, do you?"

"Not exactly, no"

"I'll prove it then" Merlin took a breath, and ran his hand over Arthur, murmuring the incantation. His eyes flashed gold for a second, and then he let his hand drop, it was done.

"What the…What the fuck was that?" Owen backed away, eyes firmly on Merlin.

"Merlin?" Arthur's voice interrupted him. Merlin realised he hadn't been breathing and let his breath rush out in a sigh of relief.

"Arthur! You're okay!" Merlin threw himself into Arthur's arms. A big grin of relief on his face, and Arthur awkwardly hugged him back. "I…I thought you were dead!"

"Well I'm not" Arthur smiled and Merlin broke the hug.

"I'm sorry, Merlin, what did you just do? That…that isn't possible!" Owen was now standing on the staircase, torn between finding Jack and watching Merlin.

"Merlin, what does he mean?" Arthur looked into Merlin's eyes, and saw the fear burning in them, and realisation hit him like an arrow to the heart. "No…No! Merlin? Please, tell me you didn't"

Merlin moved back and was pressing himself into the side of the worktop. "I…I…I'm sorry, Arthur. I couldn't let you die. I couldn't fail my destiny." He looked at the floor and shifted his feet nervously, struggling to keep back the tears which were threatening to spill over.

"Merlin, you know the rules on magic!"

He looked up. "Are you angry?"

"Of course I'm angry!-"

Arthur's sentence was broken off by Merlin running from the area. He thundered up the steps and kept running, without even realising where he was going. Eventually, he came to a halt in the cell he had woken up in those long weeks ago. Keeping his sobs at bay, he curled up on the cold shelf like bench and buried his head in his hands. He couldn't face Arthur again, and he knew he had his duties to Camelot as a knight. He would have no choice but to tell Uther and Merlin knew what Uther did to practicers of magic. He thought back to the horrible execution he had seen when he first arrived in Camelot, shuddered and pushed the thought to the back of his mind. Merlin knew he had let down not only Gaius but the dragon, and Arthur himself. He took in a shuddering breath and suddenly couldn't keep it back any longer. The sobs flooded from him and the tears seemed to rain from his eyes as sob after sob racked his chest, making his muscles scream for him to stop but he couldn't.

Merlin didn't know how long he had been crying for when he finally stopped. He took in a few shuddering breaths and wiped his eyes. After a few minutes, he became aware of somebody in the room and looked up. Arthur was leaning against the wall, looking at Merlin with eyes full of sadness and worry. They looked at eachother for a few minutes, before Merlin broke the silence.

"Arthur? I thought you'd never want to see me again." He looked back at the floor again and sighed.

"Merlin, why would I think that? I was just angry you lied to me for so long."

"You're…you're not going to tell Uther?"

Arthur sighed and walked over to the bench. "Move over, you're taking up all the space!"

Merlin moved up and brought his knees back up under his chin. "So you're not angry about the magic?"

Arthur put an arm round his manservant and looked directly into his eyes. "No, Merlin, I'm upset you didn't tell me, but I'm not angry anymore."

"But what about Uther?"

"He'll never know. You've hidden it from me well enough. I won't tell him"

Merlin let out a sigh of relief, and a giddy grin spread across his face, which soon fell when Merlin had a horrible thought. "But what if Uther finds out? What then?"

"Then I will protect you"

Merlin smiled and rested his head against Arthur's shoulder. "I have another secret to tell you." Merlin didn't realise what he said until the words were out, and a pink blush began leaking into his cheeks.

Arthur looked at him, one eyebrow raised in a quizzical expression. "Oh? And what secret would this be?" He put on a slightly sexy voice, which prompted Merlin to snort heavily.

Merlin looked directly into Arthur's eyes, and sighed. "I love you, Arthur." Once the words were out, the pink blush returned, staining his face and the tips of his ears. Arthur's face mirrored the blush, and a smile slowly crept onto his face. "Well, that's not too much of a secret, because, I love you too." The tips of Arthur's ears were burning a brighter red than Merlin had ever seen. He stifled a giggle.

"Your ears have gone bright red, by the way."

Arthur blushed even more and Merlin couldn't help but giggle. "Stop laughing at me!"

"Ooh, why do you have to be the dominant one?"

"Because I'm the prince and you're the manservant."

"More like the royal ass and the warlock in disguise!"

"Oh, I like that! Warlock in disguise. But hey, be fair, I'm not an ass!"

"Oh really?" Merlin raised one eyebrow and smiled devilishly. "I can change that you know."

"Don't you dare!"

Merlin laughed. "I'm defiantly the dominant one and you know it!"

"Shut up!" Arthur playfully pushed Merlin and Merlin shoved him back a little too hard, and Arthur fell to the floor. Merlin couldn't help but laugh at Arthur's shocked face.

"Sorry! You look so cute down there!"

"Shut up, that hurt!"

"Sorry!"

Arthur got to his feet and dusted himself down. "You know, I should punish you for that." He leered at Merlin, suddenly glad that he could be so open about his feelings for his manservant, and that the feelings were mutual. His mind wandered to what he would look like naked and suddenly felt tightness in his groin. He looked down to see an evident bulge and redness returned to his cheeks once more.

Merlin stood up and leered back at him, which made the tightness worse. Merlin moved closer and soon their bodies were pressed together against the wall. "I'm so glad, Merlin, that we can be like this, just in this moment-"

"It's like we were meant to be?" Merlin finished Arthur's sentence with a questioning tone and smiled.

"It's…Merlin; remember when I said there was something about you, when I first met you?"

"It was the magic? Or maybe you just knew this is meant to be." Merlin wrapped his arms up around Arthur's neck, and rested his cheek against his face, his warm breath caressing the bottom of Arthur's ear.

"I think it was both" Arthur, unable to resist any longer, pressed his lips firmly against Merlin's in a caressing, tender kiss. Merlin moaned in response and kissed Arthur back, whilst his hands travelled down his back, sending electric shivers running up and down Arthur's spine and prompting a low moan, which got deeper ad Merlin's hands reached the small of his back.

"Ahem" The clearing of a throat sent the two of them leaping away from eachother as if electrocuted. They both looked ruefully at the open door, where Jack stood, arms folded, a half smile on his face.

Merlin and Arthur looked at eachother.

"Erm…" Merlin couldn't think of what to say. His face was burning red with embarrassment, and he could see that Arthur was too. Merlin looked at the floor, where a black grimy stain had suddenly become very interesting.

"Sorry, was I interrupting a private moment?" Jack broke the awkward silence. "Can't stop young love so they say." He smiled at both of them. "I was just checking to see if you're okay, Merlin. You've been down here for a long time now, Owen told me what happened." He entered the cell and leant against the wall. "How are you feeling, Arthur?"

Arthur looked at the floor, then Merlin and finally Jack. "I feel…fine." He was still blushing and could feel his face burning.

"Right. That's just…I've never seen anything like that, you know. And I've dealt with pretty much everything you could possibly think of!" He straightened up and walked to the door. "Are you going to stay there all night? There's pizza up in the hub you know." He turned to leave, and Merlin and Arthur followed, hand in hand.

The hub was quiet and calm and the team sat around the briefing table, three pizza boxes in the centre.

"So, you can do magic, Merlin?" Gwen sat across the table, daintily picking the pepperoni pieces off of her slice of pizza

"Yeah" Merlin answered through a mouthful of BBQ chicken pizza. He swallowed quickly. "I can do all sorts of things with magic." He raised his hand and his eyes flashed gold. Immediately all the pepperoni pieces rose off of Gwen's slice and floated onto Arthur's, much to his surprise.

"Hey! Just because I've said I don't mind your magic doesn't mean you can just put pepperoni on my pizza without asking!" Arthur stifled a laugh behind a steely glare.

"That is ridiculous!" Gwen was staring at her now pepperoni free pizza with amazement. "That is just…wow! I wish I could do that!"

"Pepperoni on your pizza?" Merlin looked at Arthur with one eyebrow raised, which prompted the whole table to laugh. Arthur just frowned and took a bite from his now pepperoni covered slice.

"Honestly, so childish!" Arthur smiled at Merlin anyway and took another slice of pizza.

"So, Merlin, have you ever thought of sporting the beard and pointy hat look?" Owen crammed half a slice of pizza into his mouth and smiled.

Merlin leant back in the chair. "I suggested the hat but Gaius said there probably isn't one big enough! As for the beard…no, I don't think one would suit me."

"I think it would" Arthur winked and Merlin snorted like a horse, prompting laughter from the whole table.

"Oh, you two are just too funny!" Ianto managed to get out between boughts of hysteria.

Suddenly, a low rumble sounded from the bay above, and the whole hub seemed to shudder. "What the…what was that?" Jack jumped up, followed by the rest of the team. The calm, fun atmosphere was shattered and had become tense. There was a moment of silence and then another rumble sounded, again shaking the hub.

"The rift is active, Jack" Tosh was already at her station and reading off her screen. "It's peaking every five minutes or so."

"Mafanwy isn't happy." Ianto mused, watching the distressed pterodactyl as she zoomed around the cavernous roof of the hub, screeching like a banshee.

Merlin and Arthur looked at eachother and moved closer together.

"I'm scared." Arthur whispered it, and it took Merlin by surprise.

"Of what?" Merlin was also secretly scared, and his insides were churning in a non-stop swirling whirlpool motion.

"Of losing you." It was whispered, and full of passion, and fear, and it made Merlin's heart melt. He squeezed Arthur's hand reassuringly.

"You won't lose me, I'll protect you, and I will never leave you." He whispered it back, and gently kissed Arthur's cheek.

"Merlin, Arthur, come down here! We need you!" Jack's voice rang through the hub. Looking round themselves, they realised they were now alone in the briefing room. They looked at eachother and Merlin smiled ruefully, gave Arthur's hand another affectionate squeeze and the two of them went to join the rest of the team, secretly hoping their time with them hadn't been cut short just yet.


	8. Intense Love & Magic

"It's going to be alright" Merlin whispered it in Arthur's ear as they stood waiting on the cold asphalt of the bay, the water tower looming over them in the darkness.

"What's going to happen?" Arthur whispered back.

For the first time, Merlin could hear genuine fear in Arthur's voice, and squeezed his hand in reassurance. "I don't know." Merlin turned and looked directly into Arthur's eyes. "Arthur, I need you to know this; I will protect you with everything I have, including my life." He put his hand over Arthur's heart, and could feel it beating fast and hard behind his ribcage. "We are going to be alright." He said it again, this time with determination and assurance, in an assertive yet sweet sounding voice which made Arthur's heart melt. Merlin gently leant up and kissed Arthur softly, wrapping his arms around his shoulders in a sweet, warm and comforting hug. They broke apart just in time to see Jack pulling the SUV into the bay in a perfect 90 degree turn, and Tosh alighting the invisible lift, with a black standard Torchwood backpack. They looked at eachother and Merlin smiled his usual cheeky grin. He held out his hand and Arthur took it. "Better not keep them waiting!"

The SUV was cramped, but bearable as Jack hurtled towards the edge of town at hold-on-to-your-teeth-if-you-value-them speed.

"What is it we're actually facing, Jack?" Owen's voice sounded from somewhere in the back.

"I don't know. Something is affecting The Rift, maybe from the other side.

"So what's all the gear for?" Tosh's voice was muffled by the bag, and Owen, who was half sitting half kneeling in the centre of the car.

"I hope you don't suddenly stop, by the way. That windscreen doesn't look all that cushioning for my delicate skull" Owen braced himself against the front seats as the vehicle hurtled over potholes in the road.

"Relax, my driving is perfectly safe!" Jack spun the wheel and the car turned, or skidded, into a small crumbling entrance road. "And the gear is to make sure we're prepared for whatever The Rift has seen fit to present us with today."

"Yeah but we don't usually bring this much stuff!"

"Are we under usual circumstances?"

Tosh paused for a minute. "…no"

"Well then, better to be safe than sorry. Well better to be alive than dead and in a body bag at any case."

"Jack, please, bit much"

"Sorry, its just…oh, we're here. No time for sentiment I suppose. Come on, get moving!"

The team filed out of the car and assembled on the asphalt. "Where are we?"

"Not far away from the city centre, this place was once a tyre warehouse. Be careful if we need to go inside, the structure's very unstable, been standing for years"

"This is where Mafanwy came through" Ianto looked up at the structure and sighed. "Where I first met Jack"

"Ianto, this is not the time for reminiscing about the old days!" Jack slammed the door of the SUV with maybe a little too much force, making the whole team jump. As if on que, the old building sent out a wave of energy so strong it nearly knocked the team off their feet. Jack steadied himself and took in a deep breath. "Looks like something's about to join us!" He steadied himself against another pulse of energy and moved forwards.

"Jack!" Arthur called after him, "You can't go in there by yourself!"

"I can, I'll be fine"

"As a knight of Camelot, I will do my duty and help you" Arthur's hand went to where his sword would usually swing at his hip, but stopped when he realised it was missing. "It would be helpful if I had a weapon. Merlin, where's my sword?"

Merlin looked up. "I haven't got it"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Merlin, how do you expect me to fight without a weapon?"

Merlin didn't have time to answer as an immense wave of energy shook the ground, and a blinding flash came from the warehouse. Then, the energy subsided, and the area was silent. Merlin looked at Arthur, and the team looked at eachother.

Slowly, Jack advanced towards the building, hand outstretcheched to keep the others back. He disappeared through the splintered door and into the dark abyss of the building. It was silent for a few minutes, and then a shout was heard. Immediately the team moved in, Tosh handing small guns to everybody. Merlin and Arthur inspected theirs with interest and held them like the others, as they slowly moved into the darkness and, letting their eyes adjust to the darkness.

Jack lay still and unmoving on the floor, and a few feet away a golden light was pulsing, the energy it was giving off was weaker now.

"Stay back, the rift is dangerous when it's unstable" Owen lowered his gun and gave the others the signal to do so.

Jack sat up and looked around, before picking himself up off of the floor. "Ouch! Note to self: Never underestimate the shit that thing outs out!" He joined the others and studied the feeble glow in the centre of the warehouse. "It's dying out." He turned to the others. "Tosh, do you have the portable manipulator?"

Tosh delved into the bag and found the object. She handed it to Jack, who turned towards the rift and closed the portal. "There, that should close it."

"Did anything come through?"

"Just another weevil. It ran off somewhere, we can track it later."

"No point" Owen voiced up from the darkness. "It will just melt away into the millions of other weevils we're overrun with."

"I suppose" Jack sighed and stretch. "Well, we'd better get back to the hub. The pizza's probably gone cold now."

"How long has it been now?" Uther sat in his throne, head supported on the heel of his hand. "I forget."

"It's been four weeks now, sire" Gaius stood before him, stomach churning nervously.

"He's my only son. I can't believe…I don't want to believe it." Uther's voce caught in his throat. He couldn't bear the thought of his only son dead; it was too horrible a thought. "It was my fault."

"No, don't say that, it wasn't and you know it." Gaius stepped closer and put a comforting hand on Uther's. Uther looked up, with eyes brimming with tears.

"It was. I refused to let him go. I should have taken further measures." He paused and took in a shuddering breath. "He's my only son!" With that, the king let the tears spill over. Gaius took him into an awkward hug and let him cry. After a few minutes, Uther's sobs subsided and he straightened up. Wiping his eyes with the back of his hands, he sat back on his throne, looking more like a small boy than the mighty and ruthless king he was. "Sorry" he apologised.

The apology took Gaius by surprise, but he managed to keep it quiet. "It's okay. Even the king has to cry at some point."

"Gaius, you've always been such a good friend, you know that?"

Gaius just nodded. "Thank you, sire."

Suddenly, Uther was sombre king again. "So you think its sorcery?"

"I'm certain of it. From what the knights and several people from the lower village have told me, I can't think of any other logical explanation."

"I see. Well the sorcerer hasn't been found yet, but I pray to god when they are they can bring Arthur back to us, dead or alive."

"You and I both, sire"

"You may leave" Uther nodded for Gaius to be let out. "Thank you, by the way."

"Pleasure." Gaius bowed and left the huge room, breathing a silent sigh of relief.

"Well, that was a waste of time" Owen grumbled as the team ambled back into the hub.

"Really? We managed to shut down another node, thus preventing any unwanted debris or creatures visiting us!" Gwen shot back

"She has a point" Jack chuckled as he plonked himself down in a conveniently placed chair.

"Can't win with you!" Owen sighed and went up to the briefing room. He reappeared several minutes later with the pizza. "The pizza's gone cold aswell!"

"I can fix that" Merlin put in, and focused hard on the box. "Forbearne" the word sounded different and chilling to Arthur's ears, and they were al taken aback when the pizza boxes burst into flames.

"Shit!" Owen threw the burning box to the floor and waved his hand like a madman.

Merlin looked at the box and his eyes flashed golden. The flames died instantly.

"Oops…" Merlin looked apologetically at Owen. "Sorry. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, that scared me!"

"I don't blame you" Merlin picked up the pizza and opened the box. "Oh, it's a bit burnt." He held up a black and rather burnt looking slice. "Hope you like it chargrilled!"

"We could scrape off the burnt bits?" Tosh put in helpfully.

"Tosh, the whole thing _is _a burnt bit!" Owen shot back, receiving a snort of laughter from Arthur.

"Its okay, I'll order some more." Ianto went off to order the pizza, and the team dispersed into their various jobs.

"Tosh, could you put a tab on the rift?"

"Already on it" Tosh sat down at her computer and within seconds her fingers were flying across the keyboard. "Hey Merlin, Arthur, come and look at this."

Merlin and Arthur stood behind Tosh, looking at the monitor she was pointing to. "Thought you might find this interesting." Tosh pointed to a tall spike on a long chart she had spread out across two monitors. "This is when you came through, Merlin, you see? And this is when Arthur came through. You both used a lot of energy getting here." She paused to make sure they were still following. "The rift spikes massively when anything living comes through, which is why we felt your arrivals."

"What exactly _is_ the rift?" Arthur studied the chart with interest, marvelling at how they could map energy, and how the machines they were using worked.

"The rift is a rip, a gap in the space-time continuum. We don't know why it is there, or how it came to be there, or even how it works, but it is there, and occasionally things fall through. In this case it was you two. We need to wait for there to be a spike at the same frequency, and another node to open for you to be able to get back."

"Wow, that's really clever!" Merlin was studying the chart with the same interest as Arthur.

"How long will it take?" Arthur was desperate to get home, to be where he belonged.

"We don't know. This will tell us pressure is building and this thing here" she pointed to another, smaller scale that was constantly moving, the line peaking and unpeaking, almost like a heartbeat, "this is mapping the internal activity of the rift, what's happening inside it, and this" she pointed to another scale, which looked similar but it only had one line, and a constantly changing dial at one side. "This maps the frequency." Tosh smiled. "I set all this up the day Merlin arrived; I knew it would be needed as soon as possible. Jack's a fast thinker, but he's not one for thinking ahead, that's my job!"

"This is…I never imagined…" Arthur was lost for words at the lengths Tosh had gone to to monitor this thing that had brought them to this alien world. "Thank you."

"It's nothing; it's what I'm here for!" Tosh turned back to the computer and resumed typing, blushing at the prince's gratitude. Merlin and Arthur wandered around the hub, unsure of what to do. After a while, they found themselves drifting towards the cell block, and before long they were sitting in the same cell they had been earlier that day.

"Merlin?" Arthur was hugging his knees and resting his head on his knees.

"Yes?" Merlin was almost sitting in the same position, but with his head resting against the wall.

"Tell me more about magic." The comment took Merlin off guard, and he smiled at Arthur's interest, and relief that he wasn't hostile about it.

"Magic, well, it's hard to explain. People like me, sorcerers, are born with it." Merlin smiled. "Watch this." He closed his hands and his eyes flashed golden. When he opened his hand a small flame was flickering, Merlin raised his hand and the flame rose, dancing in the air. With one flick of his wrist, it died out.

"Wow" Arthur breathed, and Merlin smiled. "What else can you do?"

"Lots of things" Merlin raised one eyebrow and Arthur snorted. "The amount of times I've saved your sorry little royal arse, it's not even funny! It's a wonder how you even managed to survive without me!"

"Beats me!" Arthur put an arm round his manservant and looked deep into his eyes. "When I met you, when I first saw you, I knew. I knew you were sent to Camelot for me, to be part of me. I'm the armour and you're the sword, we're two halves of the same book"

"We're two sides of the same coin" Merlin smiled, relishing in the warmth that their love gave him. Without warning, Merlin pressed his lips against Arthur's and the two of them engulfed eachother in a wrap of arms in a warm, strong hug which spoke of love and destiny, and Merlin knew, that that moment was meant to be, and it was what he was sent for, that they were both meant to be, and maybe their visit to this strange, wonderful alien land that was Cardiff, was meant to be, to bring them together. They broke apart after what seemed like eternity and smiled at eachother. "You've gone bright red" Merlin chuckled, and kissed Arthur again. Arthur kissed him back and then they sat together, smiling into eachother's eyes.

"I think we should take this further" Arthur smiled and whispered it into Merlin's ear, sending a pink blush into his cheeks, and flutters of anticipation running riot in his stomach. He fumbled for words, and looked up into Arthur's eyes, and saw the light of excitement and life burning bright in them. He smiled, gulped back a nervous laugh and nodded.

With shaking fingers, Arthur removed his shirt, goosepimples immediately surfacing at the chill in the air. Merlin took off his own shirt, and Arthur was taken aback at how skinny and pale he was. Merlin smiled and his hands moved down to his trousers, provoking Arthur to get a very noticeable erection. Merlin giggled and Arthur blushed as he watched Merlin undress until he was standing in nothing but his boots. Merlin casually leant on the wall and watched Arthur hurriedly strip from the rest of his clothes. They eyed eachother up, and Merlin knew his ears had gone crimson.

"Well, are you ready?" Arthur said it with a low, husky voice, which had Merlin's inner self baying for it to happen already. He nodded, suddenly aware of how much he wanted this, how much he had been wanting it from the start.

When it happened, Merlin couldn't think of a better place to be. As his hips gently moved with Arthur, warmth seemed to surround them both, Arthur's moans seemed to synchronise with his own. At first, it was a mixture of feelings, loving, exiting, awkward and amazing, and Merlin found these feelings hard to handle. The feelings seemed to well up inside him, and engulf the two in a swirl of emotions as they moved in synch with eachother. When Merlin reached orgasm, he couldn't believe how good it felt, it felt as if there was no-one else in the world, just him and Arthur, and it felt like time had stood still. He wished it had, so that he could stay in that moment forever. He cried a little, and he didn't know why. Maybe it was the realisation that they could be together like this, and that Arthur really did love him in the same way he did, or maybe all these emotions rushing through his body needed to be let out somehow.

After, Merlin and Arthur sat on the floor, breathing heavily, Merlin rested his head against Arthur's chest and Arthur put his arm around him.

"Wow! That was…" Arthur laughed. "Magical"

Merlin smiled. "It was" He yawned. "I never thought…I never..."

"Shhhh," Arthur smiled. "Come here" He leaned down and kissed Merlin, gently and firmly at the same time. It made Merlin feel warm all the way down to his toes, and made his heart melt.

Merlin and Arthur eventually emerged from the cell block, looking sheepish and tired. Jack gave them a knowing wink and thumbs up, which made them both, blush crimson. Jack chuckled and walked over.

"So, you two finally…" He did an action to save voicing it out loud, making them blush even more. Merlin nodded. "Well done! You beat me to it, Merlin!"

Merlin hit him "Hey!"

"Fighting over me are we?" Arthur was trying hard to conceal a grin, and raised one eyebrow, making all three of them burst into laughter.

"Jack, I'm going now. Arthur, you can stay with me" Gwen appeared and looked at the giggling three with a knowing look. "Jack, you're embarrassing them!"

"Aw, come on, I'm only having a laugh!"

"It's okay" Merlin reassured her and smiled at Jack. "See you tomorrow!"

Arthur followed Merlin and Gwen out of the hub, feeling as if he was enclosed in a bubble of happiness. He was tired, but he couldn't wait to be alone with Merlin one more time.


	9. Homewards Bound

*AUTHOR'S NOTE* sorry I haven't updated in a while, I'm juggling two other fics and also it was mock exam week, so I've been really busy! Also it snowed and I kept getting distracted by sledging (aka nearly dying by throwing yourself down a hill with no breaks to save you from the trees at the bottom) but hey, its here now and I'll try to get back on track with the updates, please forgive me for the long gap and enjoy the next chapter!

Morning came, and it was the usual wintry grey, sleety drizzle that greeted Cardiff in early December. The grey light filtered in through the windows. Merlin rolled over and opened his eyes. He smiled when he saw Arthur's face next to him, still deep in sleep. He gently pulled the duvet further up, and snuggled closer to the prince. Soon, he fell back into a light, warm sleep.

An hour later, Merlin woke again, and saw Arthur's deep blue eyes staring into his own. He smiled and snuggled closer. "Hello sire."

"Morning, warlock." Arthur smiled and wrapped his arms around Merlin in a warm, comforting and heart-melting hug.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Better with you beside me." Arthur planted a light kiss on Merlin's cheek, and it sent warm tingles running through him. Merlin blushed and smiled some more. "You're so cute when you blush." Arthur chuckled.

"Shut up" Merlin stretched and yawned. "We'd better get up soon, I'm sure Gwen and Rhys will want to use the kitchen."

"Boys, is it ok for me to come in?" Gwen's voice sounded at the door. Merlin looked at Arthur and they both burst into laughter.

"Wait a minute." Merlin got up and threw Arthur his tunic. Quickly he pulled it on and got out of bed. Merlin pulled his own tunic on and sat down on the bed. "Ok, you can come in now!"

Gwen opened the door and smiled. "Morning."

"Morning" Merlin and Arthur replied at the same time, and then burst into laughter once more.

"You two seem happy." Gwen gave Merlin a knowing smile. Merlin smiled back. "We're leaving in about half an hour. Have some breakfast." Gwen handed them a bowl of cornflakes each, which Merlin tucked into and Arthur inspected before putting one in his mouth. He chewed it for a while, nodded and took a spoonful. Rhys came in and smiled at the two boys, who were sitting looking at the television, watching BBC breakfast. "Morning!" He walked over to Gwen and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Morning, beautiful."

"Morning" Gwen's phone buzzed on the counter. Gwen saw the caller ID was jack, looked apologetically at Rhys and answered it. "Hello? Yes…yes…okay, yeah….yeah they're fine…oh, ok…yeah we'll be there….yep….see you then, bye." She hung up and put the phone in her pocket. "We need to go." She announced to Merlin and Arthur, who both got up and placed their half empty bowls on the counter. Gwen kissed Rhys and walked to the door. "Bye, Rhys!"

"Bye!" Rhys replied from the kitchen. Arthur and Merlin quickly pulled their boots on and followed Gwen to her car, walking hand in hand.

Jack was already waiting in the SUV, and the team were assembled on the bay. Gwen parked the car and then ran over to Jack, Merlin and Arthur following.

"What's happening?" Arthur whispered in Merlin's ear.

Merlin looked up at the prince and smiled. "I think we might be going home!"

Gaius woke with a start. Something far away was rumbling, like the far off sound of an approaching storm, and there was a building pressure in the atmosphere. The rumble got louder for a second, and the castle seemed to shake. Gaius got up and opened a window. Outside the pressure was almost electric, and it raised the hairs on the back of Gaius' neck. The pressure was growing now, and the shakes were getting stronger, the energy growing. Something was wrong, and he could feel it. As he watched, the sun slowly rose, cutting through the pressure with its bright and warm light, turning the sky into a beautiful mix of pinks and reds and oranges, but the heavy feeling seemed to take from it. Another shudder of energy rippled through the valley and a growing feeling of unease followed. Something was about to happen, and something big.

Arthur and Merlin stood by the SUV, shaking hands with Ianto and Owen, and Arthur very gracefully kissed Tosh's hand, and did the same to Gwen, making them both blush and giggle. "Thank you" Merlin gave Gwen a quick hug and smiled, "for everything."

"You're more than welcome, Merlin. It's been a real pleasure." Gwen smiled. "Be safe."

"I will be. I won't forget you." Merlin smiled at each member of the team. "Thank you."

Tosh handed Merlin a strange looking, round object. "You'll need this when you get to the other side."

Merlin held it at eye level and inspected it. "What is it?"

"Portable Rift Manipulator. It will shut down that part of the rift to stop anything else coming through."

"Oh, I see, that's clever, thank you."

"It's okay." Tosh smiled.

Merlin smiled back and turned to get into the SUV. "Hey, Merlin!" Owen called. Merlin looked up.

"Yes?"

"Think about that pointy hat and beard combination, you never know, it might suit you!"

Merlin snorted. "I will!" He smiled at the team and leant on the open door of the SUV. "Thank you, all of you, for everything. I never imagined anything like what I've seen here." He smiled again, raised a hand in a half wave and then got into the car. Jack turned towards the back and smiled at Arthur and Merlin.

"You ready to go?" They both nodded and Jack smiled and tuned towards the front.

"Let's go then!" He pulled the car away from the curb and drove away, towards the outer fringes of the city.

A few hours had passed, and the sun was now shining high in the sky. The pressure that had hung over Camelot in the morning had escalated and was now pulsating, washing over the castle like waves. It had everyone at an uneasy panic, and several guard groups had been sent out into the surrounding forests to find the source.

Uther paced in the court room, face set in a firm mask of worry.

"Sire, I'm sure-"

"Gaius, I don't need reassurance right now, I need this stopped and now!"

"Uther, this is the strongest magic I've ever seen. The sorcerer who did this is more than likely a formidable and strong one."

"So we do nothing?"

"No! We need to-" suddenly the castle shook so violently Gaius toppled to the floor and Uther had to grab the side of the throne to keep steady.

"This is getting worse." Uther sighed. "I don't know what to do!" He sat down, head in his hands. "I'm the king! How am I supposed to lead if I don't know what to do?"

"Hey, it's okay" Gaius put a hand on the king's back. "We can do this together."

Uther sighed. "I need to pull myself together." He stood up. "I've lost my son, but I refuse to lose my kingdom or sanity."

The SUV sped through the residential streets until Jack slowed it at the entrance of a bumpy looking alleyway. He stopped the car and Merlin and Arthur climbed out. There was a tension in the air, and it could be felt all around them, trembling and vibrating, and it raised the hair on Merlin's neck. He squeezed Arthur's hand and smiled at Jack.

"Come on, it's through here." Jack led them up the alleyway and after a few minutes it opened out onto a deserted looking park. In one corner there was a rickety looking shed, and a swing blew eerily back and forth in a breeze. The tension was stronger here, and cold. Merlin shivered and gripped Arthur's hand tightly as they followed Jack. Eventually, they came to a stop beside the shed and Jack pulled the door open with a creak. A golden light glowed and Merlin and Arthur felt the familiar pull. Jack stood steady and took a small object from his pocket. Holding it up to the rift opening, he turned a few dials and pressed the central button. The rift suddenly flared, engulfing the shed with a golden, blinding light. Jack grabbed the boys and together the three of them stepped into the centre of the rift opening.

Merlin flailed in the blinding light as colours zoomed passed his eyes and he gripped Arthur's hand as strongly as he could. It felt like they were falling for eternity when suddenly the light faded and all three of them landed with a harsh thud on the familiar woody ground of the forests that surrounded Camelot. Slowly, he picked himself up and turned to see Jack shutting off the rift with the manipulator. The light pulsated for a second, and then disappeared altogether, leaving a rippling wall of air that was visible for just a few seconds, and then it also disappeared. Jack closed the manipulator, put it in his pocket and patted it. "There, that should solve it." He turned and smiled at the two boys, who were both standing, staring wide eyed at the spot where the rift had been. "You're home!"

"Jack…" Merlin got to his feet and Arthur stood behind him. An arrow whizzed past Jack's ear and embedded itself in the trunk of a nearby beech tree. Jack turned to see a party of ten Camelot knights, all mounted on horses that snorted and jostled uneasily at his presence.

"Oh, hello!" Jack smiled. "Look you two; we've got a welcome party!"

"You, sorcerer, shut up or I can do it for you!" The lead knight lifted his bow and nocked in another arrow.

"Hey, what's with the hostility? I brought your prince back." Jack nodded at Arthur, who was standing awkwardly.

"Arthur?" The knight immediately lowered his bow and dismounted the horse, which snorted and pawed the ground.

"Hello, Sir Leon." The prince stepped forwards. "Leave Jack, he's my friend."

Sir Leon kept his shock disguised. "Friend? But he's a sorcerer!"

"That may be true, but he saved me, and Merlin. If it wasn't for him we would both still be missing. And I would be dead." Arthur looked at Jack and smiled. "I will be eternally grateful and in debt to him."

Sir Leon shifted his position. "But…What about Uther?"

"Uther doesn't need to know."

"If you don't step up to your duties, Arthur, I will." Sir Leon gave him a frosty glare and mounted his horse. He signalled the rest of the group to wait. "We need to get you back to the castle. Arthur, you have the pleasure of riding with me. Your manservant can ride with Sir Ernest and Jack with Sir Thomas." He turned his horse to the side so that Arthur could mount. Arthur begrudgingly got behind him. Merlin and Jack did the same with their allocated rides, and the group galloped at full speed back towards Camelot, towards home.


	10. Returning To Camelot

*AUTHOR'S NOTE* sorry for the late update (again) I went away with the family over Christmas and didn't bring my trusty laptop with me! But never fear, I have now written the next chapter now and its here for you lovely people to read! Enjoy

The party of knights slowly rode into Camelot, the horses' hooves clopping loudly in the courtyard. Sir Leon swung off his horse and Arthur slid off on the other side. The rest of the knights did likewise and almost immediately a group of servants came and took the horses off to be fed and watered.

"You, to the front. Arthur also, and take your manservant with you." Sir Leon barked orders as they began to move towards the castle.

Arthur turned and they came to a halt. "Sir Leon, you are forgetting who I am. I am the prince, your leader and the once and future king of Camelot. You may have been the leader in my absence, but I have returned and so you shall return to your place in the group. Stop ordering me around like some servant. Learn your place or I will have to teach it to you."

Sir Leon started, and his face contorted into anger. "Arthur Pendragon! You have been gallivanting around with a sorcerer, a threat to Camelot, and you treat him like a friend? Once Uther finds out about this you will never become king and will be removed from the circle of knights, leaving me to lead! Group forward!"

The group began to move again, pushing Arthur, Merlin and Jack forward with it. Before they reached the doors to the main castle, they flew open and Uther came running out.

As soon as he saw Arthur he let out a cry and flung his arms around his son. "Arthur! Oh Arthur I thought…I thought you were lost! I thought you were dead!" He broke the hug and looked at the group assembled in front of him. "Court meeting, now!"

The group in tow, Jack held by the arms by two of the knights and being half dragged-half walked along, followed.

"So this man, Jack I believe his name is, is a sorcerer?" Uther studied Jack, who was still being held by the knights, with hard, interested eyes.

"We believe him to be, yes." Sir Leon spoke up, puffing his chest up with pride. "When I-we found him, he was practicing magic right in front of our eyes. Arthur and his manservant, Merlin were with him!"

"I see. Jack? Is that your name? Is this true?"

Jack, who had been looking at the floor, looked up. "My name is Jack, yes. Captain Jack Harkness to be exact."

"I see, Captain Jack, were you practicing magic?"

Jack paused for a few, tense minutes before speaking again. "No, not magic to be exact. It was…well it's very difficult to explain."

"It was magic your majesty! He-they just appeared out of nowhere!" Sir Leon was almost shouting now.

"Sir Leon! Did I ask you to speak? If you have something to say, you request permission to speak, do you understand?"

Sir Leon blushed and looked at the floor. "Yes. Sorry, your majesty."

Uther grunted and turned back to Jack. "So, Jack, if it wasn't magic, what was it?"

Jack sighed. "It was, sort of, a kind of time travel. That thing, I'm assuming your knights have seen it, was something called the rift. I used it to get here, to return your son and his manservant back to here. They both got caught up in the rift and fell through it, thank god they landed in Cardiff, and heaven only knows where else that thing could have taken them!"

"Hmmm, do go on" Uther was leaning forward and listening intently to Jack's words, but Arthur knew the look he wore on his face; Uther wasn't buying it.

"Um, well, luckily I have a team back in Cardiff, like your knights we protect it. That rift, it's a hole, a rip in the fabric of time itself. Merlin came through, which took us by surprise; living things don't often come through and when they do they die in the process. When Arthur came through we knew we had more than a one off node, there was a crack that had lodged itself here. We worked to fix it, and had to wait for the right energy level to allow us passage back, once we were through I shut the crack with this," Jack shook his arm free and took the small portable manipulator from his pocket. "It opens and closes rift portals from both sides. I only use it to close them, for travelling between I would usually use a vortex manipulator, which is similar to this but doesn't use the rift."

"I see. This rift, how is it conjured?"

"I don't know sir. I only know how to control the cracks or 'nodes, the main rift and its origins are before my time and a mystery to me."

Uther just nodded and sighed. "I am going to make a decision with the help of the royal court. In the meantime you shall be kept in the dungeons. Guards, take him."

The knights on either side of Jack tightened their grip and began to drag him from the court, the rest of the knight party following. Jack didn't struggle, and already knew what was about to happen. He looked at Arthur as he left and smiled weakly before the doors slammed shut behind him.


	11. Justice & Trial

"How long has it been?" Ianto handed out mugs of coffee to the team and sat down.

"Longer than I thought, I thought he was just taking them through and then coming back. What's taking him so long?" Gwen sipped her coffee.

"Maybe something's gone wrong" Ianto sighed. "Tosh, are you still getting readings?"

"Not from that node, no. The main rift is still very active. I can't get to Jack either so I'm guessing he's still on the other side."

"I hope he's alright and nothing is going wrong!" Gwen sipped the rest of her coffee and sighed.

"We all need to stop worrying! Jack will be fine; he was before we came along!" Owen got up and checked his watch. "It's 7 o'clock. I'm going home."

Uther paced, torn between choosing the right thing for Camelot and the right thing for himself. He had listened to each member of the court's opinions, and had decided that Jack was a sorcerer, there was no doubt about it, but there was something about him that was different, truthful. He was a good man and Uther knew it, but he couldn't let Camelot see that he was becoming complacent with sorcerers. The warning needed to be upheld. He turned to the court and sighed, "Jack is a sorcerer, and there is no doubt about it. He shall be tried for practicing magic within Camelot and executed at sunrise. Send the order for him to be brought here to hear the charges."

Merlin's heart dropped. Jack was doomed, and stuck here in a world that was as alien to him as Cardiff was to Merlin and Arthur. He gulped back an anguished sob and looked across at Gaius, who was staring at his feet. One of the members of the court slowly walked to the doors and they opened. Several tense, slow minutes later, Jack was dragged back in, looking broken and hurt. He had a large bruise forming on his face. Anger bubbled up inside Merlin; the guards had taken the opportunity to hurt Jack, hurt the kind, considerate captain who had helped him and Arthur and without whom they would still be missing. He looked over to Arthur and saw that his face was set in a hard mask, but his jaw was jutting slightly and anger flashed in his eyes when he saw how roughly Jack was being handled. Jack was thrown to the floor in front of Uther and he sat, panting heavily and staring at the floor. This time the guards didn't bother restraining him; it was obvious Jack wasn't going anywhere.

Gwen stopped in the huge doorway to the hub and turned. "Ianto, want a lift home?"

Ianto looked up from the papers he was picking up from the floor. "No, it's okay. I'm going to spend the night here, in case anything happens. Plus Mafanwy needs feeding."

"Okay then, if you need anything just give me a call."

"Okay. Want me to keep the lights on then?"

"Yeah, but you can turn the outside ones off."

"Okay then, Bye, Ianto" Gwen smiled, waved and left the hub, touched by Ianto's devotion to Jack and all things Torchwood.

"Jack, I'm so sorry" Arthur leant on the door to the dungeon, watching through the grilled bars at the captain, who was sitting in the hay and chewing on a piece.

He looked up. "It's okay; I understand why your father wants me gone."

"He didn't even let you justify yourself!"

"I know, I wouldn't have been able to though. Some things are inevitable." Jack sighed. "It isn't your fault, I want you to know that."

Arthur sighed. "I feel like it is though, if I hadn't come, if I hadn't gone through you would be okay."

"But you wouldn't have Merlin." Jack raised one eyebrow, making Arthur snort with laughter. "Honestly, it's going to be okay. I have a secret other than magic. Uther isn't going to enjoy this one!"

Arthur looked up. "What do you mean?"

Jack smiled. "You'll see."

Arthur smiled and left the dungeons, pondering what Jack meant.

Sir Leon felt bad, the guilt swirling inside him and twisting and untwisting his stomach in uncomfortable knots. He gulped as he descended the stairs to the dungeon.

"Hey" He leant on the door in the same fashion as Arthur had done before.

Jack looked up and sighed when he saw who it was. "Hey"

Sir Leon sighed. "I'm sorry, this is my fault."

"You don't say."

"Look, I know I was irate, and rallied for you to be prosecuted, but I'm under scrutiny. I'm scared, and we all do things we don't mean to do when we're scared"

"You don't have to apologise, or explain. What's done is done. Don't feel bad."

"I won't be able to."

"You are a knight of Camelot; it's your duty to protect the kingdom. I'll be okay, and I won't blame you."

Sir Leon sighed again. "I'm so sorry, Jack, you know, I was jealous. You just controlled that thing, and you stayed so cool, so calm. I wish I could be like that."

"It takes practice. I've seen things that are way beyond your imagination, been to places you would never believe exist. I've seen people die, seen people live, and seen whole other worlds created. It comes with experience, and experience comes with time. And I have a whole lot of that."

Sir Leon listened, interested in what this, he was sure he was, crazy man had to say. "Really? You've seen all that?"

"I've seen it all with my own two eyes. I've lost people along the way, too, and they've lost me I suppose."

"Wow" Sir Leon breathed, he thought highly of this 'captain', as he liked to call himself. He yawned. "I've got to go. Training in the morning."

"Better than an execution" Jack picked up a handful of hay and watched it as he let it fall back to the ground. "Not that it will affect me, much. I'll be pulling off a surprise for Uther."

Sir Leon turned back. "What?"

"Oh, you'll see." Jack looked up and laughed. "Don't look so worried, nobody's gong to die!" With that, he turned his back to the door, leaving Sir Leon confused by what Jack had said. _He's insane_, he thought to himself.

Night gradually bled into day and the sun gently peeped over the horizon, staining the deep blue sky with orange and red and yellow, reflecting the colour in the few streaks of cloud that hung in the sky and glowed brilliantly. Just above the sun, the shining fleck of light that was the morning star looked down upon the sun's rebirth into the day. Jack was lead from the dungeons to a large set of gallows that had been set up in the courtyard. A crowd of villagers had gathered around it, and Uther stood on a balcony, Arthur by his side. They both wore sombre expressions. Jack stood as a hooded executioner put the noose of the rope around his neck, his heart beating fast inside his chest.

"This man, Mr Jack Harkness, has been tried and found guilty of practicing magic. In accordance with Camelot laws, he must be executed." Uther's voice rang out. Jack looked up and met his eyes, and he flashed a smile and a wink, sending a ripple of laughs and murmurs through the assembled crowd. Merlin watched in amazement at Jack's seemingly happy mood. He jostled with the crowd, as people moved for a better view. Uther just glared and held his arm up, and straight. Jack looked at Arthur and held the gaze until Uther's hand dropped and the floor fell away from beneath his feet, and everything went black.

Arthur winced as Jack dropped and swung, limp and lifeless from the rope. Merlin had winced at the same time, and forced himself to look back up at the gallows, where the rope was still swinging like a pendulum. Arthur turned away. The look Jack had given him had sent chills rippling up and down his spine, and he watched in anticipation. Jack had said something was going to happen. His thoughts were broken by a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see his father. "Arthur, you know it had to be done, son."

"He was a good man, a true man. He saved my life, father, and this is how you repaid him?"

Uther opened his mouth to speak, but before he could a scream rang out from the crowd followed by more. Uther and Arthur looked down to see Jack's body spasming and jerking on the rope, legs kicking and arms flapping and he was trying to pull the rope from around his neck. His face was slowly turning red and tingling with blue from the lack of oxygen. Jack's eyes were open and he was opening and closing his mouth like a fish gasping for water. He was alive, but slowly dying again.

"How…that isn't possible!"

"Sorcery!" Uther shouted and at that moment the rope snapped, sending Jack hurtling to the floor.

Ianto woke up in the darkened hub; the hairs on his neck were standing on end. He shivered and pulled the blanket further over himself and shivered. There was an uncomfortable feeling in his stomach, but somehow he managed to fall back into a light, discontented sleep.

Jack ripped the noose from around his neck and gulped the air, letting it fill his lungs. The ringing in his head slowly ebbed away and he shakily got to his feet. He looked up and noticed the group of villagers, who were watching him, wide eyed with fear. He smiled and held his hands up, like a gymnast finishing a routine. "Ta-daa!"

"Jack!" Merlin rushed forward after a moment of awkward silence. "What, how did you do that?"

Jack sighed. "It's something…I can't explain it, it just happens." He rubbed his neck, where a pink line showed where the rope had been. He winced. "That's going to bruise."

"I don't think it really matters. Uther's coming by the way."

"Jack Harkness!" Uther's voice rang out in the almost silent air. The king came to a stop a few inches from Jack and had a face like thunder. "What is this?"

"This? This would be me, sire, and this is some rope. It's a bit broken though, sorry."

"Don't play your games with me. You are to follow this man now, and this time don't play any of your tricks." Uther called over a knight and after much shuffling, Sir Leon came forward, carrying a bow and arrow. He shot Merlin an apologetic look and came to a stop by Uther. He nodded to Jack and led him to the centre of the courtyard. Jack sighed and stood whilst Sir Leon backed up nocked in an arrow. Jack knew what was coming and held the knight's gaze as he raised the bow. Jack shifted position and shrugged wordlessly. Sir Leon shut his eyes and released the arrow.

The arrow hit, the twang of the bow seemingly echoing in the silence. Jack looked down at the arrow that was now embedded in his chest and looked up, catching Uther's gaze as he collapsed to his knees. He winked before his eyes glazed over and he fell to the floor with a dull thud.

Nobody moved for a few minutes, and all eyes rested on Jack's motionless body. Sir Leon cautiously moved forwards and rolled it over. The arrow had snapped in the fall, but the shaft still lay deep in his chest. Jack stared starkly up at the sky. Then, suddenly, Jack gasped, sending everyone backing up. He sat up and noticed the arrow. "Oh, that's new, better take that out" He murmured to himself, gripped the shaft and yanked it out with a horrible sounding squelch. He gave a half gasp half moan of pain before falling backwards and lying still and motionless once more.

"Erm…" Sir Leon broke the silence. "I don't think you can kill him, sire."


	12. Life

*AUTHORS NOTE* I'm really, really sorry I haven't updated in a long time, been busy with my other fanfics and I had a huge bout of writer's block (idea constipation) so I couldn't write anything!

"So you can't die?" Uther paced the courtroom, warily eyeing Jack up and down.

"Yes, I am, in a way, immortal. I can't explain it or control it, I simply can't die."

Uther sat on his throne, deep in thought. "So I can't get rid of you?"

Jack laughed. "No, I suppose not!" He sighed. "I can leave, if that's what you want."

Arthur's stomach dropped. He had hoped Jack could stay in Camelot. Permanently.

Uther thought about it for a minute, and the court waited on his words with baited breath. "Yes, I suppose that would be for the best." He stood up and spoke with authority. "I hereby plead Jack Harkness guilty of practicing magic and banish him from this kingdom, to never return on pain of" He stopped. "I was going to say death."

"Okay, how about on pain of very painful torture?"

Uther smiled. "On pain of very painful torture." He finished, sending a ripple of laughter running round the assembled court. Arthur smiled, he had never seen his father like this before, and it instilled some relief inside him, it showed his father wasn't always the unfair, pompous and prejudiced king he had grown to know and hate.

Ianto woke up to the silent hub. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he sat up and smiled at Gwen, who had slipped in quietly.

"Morning" She set a mug of coffee down on the coffee table by the sofa and sat down next to him. "Anything happen in the night?"

"No" Ianto yawned. "I woke up once, but it was quiet. Still no sign of Jack."

"He'll be fine, as Owen said; he's managed without us before."

"I just hope we don't have another one of those bloody blowfish episodes again, if it wasn't for Jack showing up when he did who knows what could have happened!"

Gwen laughed, "Yeah, that was scary! I don't think I've ever been as glad to see Jack as then!"

Ianto smiled, "I think that's the same for everyone!"

Jack rode beside Arthur on a beautiful bay stallion. They walked slowly out of Camelot, Jack taking in for the last time the immense structure of the beautiful castle. Merlin sat in front of him, expertly controlling the horse, which was uneasy at Jack's presence.

"Jack, don't you get scared of death?" Merlin broke the awkward silence between the three of them.

Jack thought about it for a moment. "Not really. I never really die, I kind of die, but not for long enough to really experience total death, I get pulled back to reality too quickly for that."

Merlin mused over this for a few minutes. "What is it like to die?"

Jack thought about that. "That's a hard question to answer. It's calm, and dark, and cold, but it varies from person to person."

Merlin spurred the horse on, as it had stopped to nibble at the grass.

Arthur spoke up, after staying silent for the duration of the conversation. "Jack, I'm sorry about my father."

"It's okay, I've dealt with worse. You should see Owen on a Monday morning!"

Merlin and Arthur laughed. "I'm going to miss you, Jack." Merlin sighed.

"It's alright, maybe I'll return one day, we might get more rift trouble, that thing is so unpredictable!"

Arthur sighed. "I wish father wasn't so hard on magic, most of the 'sorcerers' he executes are just normal innocent people."

"Prehaps yu can change that, when you're king." Jack smiled. "Maybe then I can come back without having to suffer very painful torture."

Merlin smiled at the thought that he might see this funny, kind captain he had got to know so well over the happenings of the past few weeks. Arthur stopped his horse at the edge of the large corn field they had been riding through. "Camelot ends here" he announced.

Jack slid off the horse and patted its neck. He fished in his pocket and drew out the portable rift manipulator and handed it to Arthur. "Here, if you get any rift trouble this will come in very useful. To close nodes just turn this dial at the top and press the button. To open them turn them to the left and pull the lever on the side, though opening nodes isn't advisable, you'll be overrun with weevils and space junk in no time!"

Arthur took it and inspected it, and smiled. "Thank you, for everything. I still owe you my life."

"You can keep that" Jack smiled.

"How will you get back?" Merlin asked.

Jack tapped the brown piece of leather strapped round his wrist. "Vortex manipulator, Time travel of course!"

Both Merlin and Arthur laughed, and said their long and grateful goodbyes, before watching the captain stride away towards the treeline of the forest.

Jack took long strides away from the prince and his manservant, quickly approaching the treeline. It was a calm day, and the sun shone in a brilliant blue sky, and overhead a bird of prey hovered in the still, chilly air, eyes scanning the ground below for food. Jack turned when he reached the treeline to see Merlin and Arthur still waiting, and behind them the castle rose like a graceful mountain, flags on the turrets fluttering in the light, chilled breeze that had picked up. Jack raised a hand in farewell, and Merlin and Arthur waved back. Jack pressed the buttons on his vortex manipulator, waited for a few seconds, and in a flash, Camelot had disappeared and he was now standing on a grey, wet bay, the water tower rising above him like one of Camelot's many turrets. He sighed; already missing the friends he had made and, wearily, trudged back to the hub.

Arthur and Merlin looked at eachother and back up to the treeline of the forest. Jack had been there one minute, and the next, there was a flash of light and the captain had disappeared. "Well…We'd better get back. I've got training to do and, as for you, you can muck out the stables!" Arthur flashed Merlin a grin and spurred his horse back towards the castle. Merlin groaned and followed, craning his neck to look at the forest until it disappeared from view.

Merlin spread the fresh hay in the last stall and breathed a sigh of relief. He sat down on a bale of hay to rest, and thought about the past few weeks with a smile. Outside, he heard his name being called and got up. Blinking in the brightness, he saw Arthur standing, holding his horse by the reigns. "Oh, there you are. Here, you can take him to his stall and brush him down, and then meet me in my chambers to collect my armour for cleaning. You have four week's backlog of chores to do!" He shoved the horse's reigns into Merlin's hands and strode off towards the castle, to tell his father Jack had been escorted from the kingdom and he had finished his day's training.

"Jack!" The team cried as Jack wearily entered the hub. Vortex manipulator travel always wore him out.

"I have arrived, and to prove it, I am here!" Jack sat down on the tatty sofa and put his feet up on the coffee table. "Anything interesting happen in my absence?"

"Not really, a few minor rift disturbances and some weevil problems. Also someone nicked the SUV" Ianto handed Jack a fresh mug of coffee.

"What?" Jack nearly spat the coffee out.

"Oh, don't worry, we got it back."

"Oh, phew, okay."

"How about you? What happened?"

"Not a lot really. I was prosecuted for practicing magic and executed twice."

The team stared at him. "What?" They all said in unison.

Jack smiled. "It doesn't matter. They tried to kill me and, well, it didn't work, so I was banished instead. Oh, you should have seen the place, forests everywhere and little villages with real peasant houses, and the most fantastic castle you've ever seen!"

"Well, at least we were a bit more hospitable!" Owen grumbled.

"Sounds great!" Gwen smiled.

"Jack, we've had a call. Some weevils are causing havoc in town." Tosh appeared with a phone in one hand. "By the way, we missed you."

Jack smiled. "Goodness, I spend a weekend away and you all start pining for me!" He got up. "Ianto, fancy a little weevil hunt?"

Merlin sat on Arthur's bed, a smile spread across his face. Arthur lay next to him, arms wrapped around Merlin's waist. "About that chore backlog." He said it lazily, with a lopsided grin on his face. "You can forget it." He kissed Merlin gently, and Merlin kissed him back.

Arthur sat up. "Fancy a hunt?"

"But I've just watered, fed and brushed the horses!" Merlin complained.

"Come on, you know you want to!" Arthur leant on the doorframe to his chambers, hand on his hip and an endearing pout on his face.

Merlin laughed and got up. "Oh, alright!"

An hour later, Merlin and Arthur were galloping back to Camelot, a prize dear slung between the horses. Merlin smiled at Arthur; Merlin had used magic to catch it, and was happy that he could openly use it in front of the prince, it was one less person he had to lie to, and it was the person he hated lying to the most. As Merlin took the horses to the stable, and brushed them down for a second time, he smiled. _It's good to be back_, he thought, _it's good to be back._


End file.
